Sith Are Scum, Not Friends
by ObsidianWingsOfMidnight
Summary: The Star Wars AU that literally nobody asked for, but I'm here to deliver anyway. Because ever since TFA came out I've reverted back to being 3000% star wars trash. What's there to say really? Hiro and Tadashi are jedi, and the sith are fucking things up as per usual. And like all good jedi, they do their best to keep the galaxy at peace. Which frankly, is never easy
1. The Journey Begins

You may ask yourself why a 14 year old boy known for his relentless energy would willingly choose to sit in his room and stare blankly at the wall in front of him. Well, the answer was really quite simple. If he didn't want to sit in his room he'd have to clean the bantha stalls for Senator Krei. And there was no way he was going to willing choose that again. Once had been enough.

Technically Hiro was supposed to be meditating, but he'd never been very good at it. It irked his master, who was always going on about being one with the Force or whatever, but it didn't concern Hiro nearly as much. Sure, Jedi were supposed to have a stronger connection to the Force and all, and Hiro did. In fact, he had an oddly large amount of midichlorians in his blood, even for force sensitives. It wasn't that hard for Hiro to connect with the Force. It was a near constant presence in his mind, just a part of his normal senses. He may not have gotten a lot of specifics from it, but at least it was there. That had to count for something.

According to his master (and all the knights) it was supposed to be something more. Tadashi said that the Force was a guiding tool, but to Hiro it was nothing more than a nagging feeling that occasionally told him not to do something. Frankly, it wasn't much more useful to him than his natural instinct. And frankly, he'd never been good at listening to that either. Hence, his current situation.

He had gotten a pretty bad feeling about whether or not he should go through with his plan to reprogram all the droids at the temple to start playing "Devil in Disguise" every time they saw Master Hoth . Common sense also told him not to do it, but naturally he had ignored all those warnings to pull off one hell of a trick. It was totally worth a little extra meditation when he got to see Master Hoth's face twitch in barely concealed rage every time he stumbled upon a droid- and there was a fair amount of them there. It had taken the mechanics almost a whole week to figure out how to unprogram the droids, and Hiro (and a good number of the other residents) enjoyed every second of it. Of course, it was the unnaturally long time trying to fix the issue that made it abundantly clear who the culprit had been. He'd always been good with droids. Or any kind of technology really.

So here he was, bored out of his mind, waiting for the hour of required meditation to end.

Normally he didn't mind the forced meditation, but he was especially ready to get it over with today. Why was that? Well, Tadashi was supposed to return to the temple today, that's why.

His brother's latest mission had taken him to a planet near the outer rim to rescue and help the locals any way he could after a massive freak flood. He had been stuck there for months, digging people out of the mud and trying to help them rebuild their homes and lives. According to the letters he sent Hiro, it was a grueling process, and he was eager to be finished. No doubt it was taking a toll on his brother's psyche- Tadashi had always been a bleeding heart. For kriff's sake, the man had built his own med droid when he decided that the current ones weren't good enough.

His brother made a great jedi. In fact he was practically perfect for the job. He was calm and collected, able to negotiate as well as any politician, and he wasn't a shabby fighter either. Plus, he was very zen with the force. Hiro may have been the one with the extra midichlorians, but Tadashi was the ideal jedi that all the others strived to be. He couldn't count how many times he heard others praise his brother, since people did it nearly every day. His fellow padawans and the younglings were one thing, but he also heard it from the knights and the masters too. He loved his brother, and he was very proud of him, but being constantly bombarded with compliments for him got real annoying real fast.

He let out a long suffering sigh as he flopped out of his meditating pose onto his back. There was really no use in trying to meditate today since his brain was adamant about not concentrating on it. On a good day he could do it for a half hour or so, but today was not a good day for meditation. He turned his head to look at the clock- he still had 17 minutes to go. He sighed louder this time. This was going to be hell.

A knock on the door startled him out of his musings, and he scrambled to his feet as he recognized the force signature of his master outside the room. He had just enough time to stick himself back into a meditative position before his master opened the door.

"Padawan? There's no need to pretend, I know you weren't meditating," she said the words reprimandingly, but she sent reassuring waves of amusement through their bond to let him know she didn't really mind.

"Sorry, Master," he replied sheepishly. He knew the meditation was supposed to be a helpful sort of punishment for him. He really should try harder.

"It's alright, Padawan. I know you have a lot on your mind today. I've heard the same thought rattle around in your head all day," she smiled at him.

He blushed in embarrassment and made a note to strengthen his mental shields later. You know- when Tadashi was there and he could concentrate again.

"That's why I've decided to let you end your meditation early today. Your brother's ship will be docking shortly, and I thought it would be nice to be there to greet him on his arrival." His heart soared, and he sent out waves of gratefulness to his master. She was much too kind to him sometimes.

"Thank you, Master," he said, struggling to keep the smile off his face. He only partially succeeded though, as he could still feel the corners of his lips turn upwards.

If he thought not smiling was a struggle, it was a real battle to walk to the landing docks at a sedate pace instead of running there with force enhancement.

* * *

"Well, look who it is! You been staying out of trouble?" Tadashi teased, ruffling his little brother's hair so it stuck up unevenly. And no, Hiro did not pout about it.

"Har har, I'll have you know I'm a model padawan."

Tadashi snorted.

"Oh, so that stuff I heard about you and Master Hoth was wrong? Or that incident in the fresher? Or, I dunno, literally anything you've done since I was last here?" he smirked.

"Hey, those aren't all my fault, you know! I'm just a victim of circumstance." His brother was obviously never going to buy that, but he had to at least try.

Tadashi hummed," Well, I suppose I'll just have to ask someone less biased than you. Master Takachiho, how many of these incidents would you consider Hiro to be directly involved in?" He posed his question to Hiro's master, peering over his brother's head.

Hiro looked pleadingly at his master, summoning up the biggest puppy eyes he could manage. Maybe she would take pity on him. If she didn't, he had a strong feeling that he'd spend the whole day being lectured to death by his brother. Which was much worse than being lectured by anyone else because Hiro actually cared very deeply about what his brother thought of him.

Not to say he was unaffected by being lectured by others. The waves of disappointment his master emitted when she lectured him always made him feel bad. Honestly, she was too nice to be stuck with him. She deserved a padawan that wouldn't cause trouble every other week.

For now though he was going to try and exploit her good nature in order to get out of an earful from his brother.

"I'd say it was about 95% of the time. And please, call me Cass," she smiled warmly at Tadashi. Curses. Well that didn't kriffing work.

"Very well then, Cass. Thank you for your honesty, and for taking care of this knucklehead while I was away for so long," his brother gave him a pointed look. So much for enjoying his first day back.

"He certainly keeps me on my toes. I don't mind though- after all, he is terribly charming," she winked at him, making him blush. Hiro wasn't sure charming was an adjective people should actually be associating him with. Plus, when she said it it made him feel like a seven year old getting complemented by an elderly relative.

"I heard that, mister, and I am not an elderly lady" she gave him a playful push. Oh right. Shields.

"Sorry, Master Cass," he grinned.

"Apology accepted. Now, I'm afraid I have a meeting to get to, but you boys catch up. Just make sure you get back by 11," she said, heading off on her own.

"I will!" Hiro called after her before she got swallowed by the passing crowd.

There were a few moments of precious silence in her wake. Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever.

"So... Do you want to get this over now or later?" his brother turned to him, eyebrow lifting slightly with the question.

He sighed. Today was not going as he had hoped.

* * *

"Hiro, you can't keep doing this. Not only are you setting a bad example for the younglings, but you are stunting your own growth. Surely, you must see that."

"Stunting my own- oh come on, Tadashi. It was just a harmless prank."

"That may be so, but I never said it couldn't be both. Also, I know Master Hoth isn't the most popular Jedi out there, but you should still be respectful of him. He is very devoted to peace, and he fights hard to keep it that way."

"Well, it wouldn't kill him to lighten up a little bit. And I still don't see how it's affecting my growth as a jedi," he grumbled.

Tadashi sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face.

"Unbelievable. Okay, fine. Since you're so dead set on denial, I will try to explain to you.

"Hiro, you have the potential to become one of the greatest Jedi of our generation. Don't deny it- you've already advanced far beyond your age mates in all your studies. But you never apply yourself on more than making mischief.

"I know you must be sick of hearing me tell you you can do better, but it's true.

"I don't want you to waste your talent. There's so much more you could be doing to help people."

Hiro shuffled around uncomfortably. They had argued all the way back to the jedi temple and were now pacing around each other in the gardens.

"It's not that I don't want to help people," he mumbled, "There's just not much for me to help with, I guess. I mean, you already said it yourself- classes are pretty easy for me, so I don't have anything to do. And it's not like I'm hopping from planet to planet like you, saving people from natural disasters. I'm just...here."

His brother paused his distressed pacing to stare at him in surprise. If Hiro hadn't been resolutely staring at the ground he would have seen the look of understanding on his face.

"Aw man, I should have realized you needed something to do. I'm sorry, Hiro," Tadashi put a hand on his shoulder in apology.

"But hey, why didn't you tell that to Cass? I'm sure she'd understand."

"Um, maybe because I'm just a padawan? I don't really get to make the big decisions around here. I kind of assumed she didn't want to go on any missions since we haven't gone on any in like a year," Hiro replied.

Tadashi considered this. His brother wasn't wrong- the master usually decided if they were ready to take on a mission or not, and the padawan followed along with their decision.

"I'll talk to Cass about it then. I'm sure she'll agree- she'd probably agree on anything to keep you out of trouble at this point," he brother grinned at him, teasing nature surfacing again now that he knew what the problem was.

"Thanks, Tadashi," Hiro smiled.

"But hey, you just got back. I haven't gotten sick of you just yet. Maybe hold onto that idea for a little longer, so we can spend some more time together." His brother looked pensively at him.

"You know what? I have a better idea."

* * *

"Strange, your request is," the little green alien tilted his head slightly at Tadashi.

"Indeed. One can only wonder why you think we should grant such a request," Master Hoth stared balefully down at him. He sighed inwardly, but remained unchanged outwardly.

"I know it's unusual, but I think it would be good for him to get off of Coruscant for a while. It's been some time since he's been on a mission, and it makes him restless. I believe it would be beneficial to everyone if he occupied his time being productive."

"This we understand, and full heartedly agree with," Master Saleeh said, glancing briefly at Master Hoth.

"What the council wishes to know is why you think you should join him on this mission."

He paused, trying to find the right words to convince them this was a good idea.

"If I may be candid, councilmen?" Tadashi began.

"You may."

"Hiro and I's relationship is unusual for Jedi, and I know that the order is supposed to be seen as our family as well. However, our blood relation has always made us closer than jedi typically are. I hope I don't sound presumptuous, but I know him better than anyone else. And he needs me. At least, he thinks he does.

"When I listen to the Force, it tells me to stay close to him. I can't help but feel as though something important is coming. I know he's going to be part of it, and I want to be there for him.

"Please believe me when I say that I do this because I believe the Force wills it to be so."

He waited with baited breath as the council mulled over his words.

"It is fortunate that we have a mission well suited for your request," Master Saleeh finally spoke.

"Requested assistance, you former master has," Master Yoda continued. Tadashi perked up at their words.

"Master Callaghan? What mission does he need assistance with?" he asked.

"Robert is currently on Joralla acting as extra protection for their senator. Apparently, there is unrest brewing and he is concerned that he will not be enough to keep her safe from harm," said Master Hoth.

Guard duty, huh? Well, if the situation was bad enough that his former master needed help, then it would probably keep Hiro busy.

"Thank you, councilmen. I will go inform Hiro and his master of the news, and we will be on our way tomorrow." He gave a short bow respectfully before leaving to tell Hiro the good news.

* * *

At first light the next day, the three jedi loaded onto their transport and sped across the stars to Joralla.

* * *

 **A/N:** I made Cass Hiro's master because I could not think of anyone else to do it. And for the purposes of this story, she is not going to be his aunt. I needed a different last name for her tho, so I gave her the one Hiro had in the comics. So she's not his aunt, but they are very close. It seemed like an appropriate place to put her.

Also, I'm still a little confused on the proper titles for masters and knights and such, no matter how many times I read the wiki, so we're just gonna say that anyone with a padawan counts as a master for this fic okay?

Btw, don't worry, Hiro and Tadashi are indeed brothers, despite the whole jedi don't have families thing. I've decided that their dad was a jedi and he was close to their mother, and they ended up having 2 unplanned kids together though they weren't married or anything. From what I gather from the code, there is no actual rule that says getting laid is not allowed. So at different points of his life, their dad got laid, and their mom decided to keep the babies. Until they were taken into the temple for being force sensitives or whatever. So that's that.  
Also, I'm going to say that the council allows Tadashi's attachment to Hiro because he's everyone's fav, so they let him get away with occasional shit like this.

And I apologize for the horrible title because I hate naming things and somehow I ended up with that. Oh well.  
And sorry that Baymax wasn't in this chapter, but he will be later.


	2. You Got Mud On Yo Face,You Jedi Disgrace

Sometimes when you end up face planted in the mud of a tropical planet it's because you deserve it. Sometimes it's because you were just being clumsy. And other times it's because your younger brother doesn't know how to behave himself.

"Oh come on, how was I supposed to know that hunk of mud I threw would hit that guy? I was trying to hit _you_! It's really your fault for ducking. If you hadn't ducked, then it wouldn't have hit that guy, and he wouldn't have thrown you into this disgusting swamp!"

"He tossed me in here because after you threw that you blamed it on me. It hasn't even been an hour since we arrived, and you're already giving me a headache. Unbelievable," Tadashi moaned, staggering to his feet. He wasn't even exaggerating about the headache. That local sure had a mean punch.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Look, let's just get going. Master Cass is waiting for us. You should know better than to start trouble on a mission," Hiro grinned at him. _That little punk_.

He sighed, but refrained from expressing his frustration. _Be calm. There is no emotion, there is peace,_ he recited to himself. He repeated it until it felt true. Or at least really close to being true.

"Okay, genius, let's get going," he said, wiping off some of the mud coating him.

* * *

After a good half hour of trudging down the tangled pathways the pair finally made it to the main city.

It was stunning. There were buildings that reached skyward, but rather than removing the natural landscape as most places did, they integrated it into the architecture. Trees taller than the buildings grew around them and supported them. There was vegetation growing on and around all the manmade structures, moss and ivy crawling up the walls, flowers blooming over the windows. He could stare at the sight for hours.

"Boys! There you are! What took you so- great stars, Tadashi, what happened to you?" Cass asked, eyebrows raised to her hairline. The local officials surrounding her looked just as surprised to see someone so thoroughly smothered in filth.

In response to her question, Tadashi grabbed his little brother- who had been attempting to sneak back to his master's side without notice- and gave her a strained smile.

"Ah. We'll discuss this later then, shall we?" she gave her padawan a pointed look.

"In the meantime, I suppose we better get on with the mission.

"Boys, this is Senator Honey Lemon," she gestured to a tall woman standing at the head of the party.

"Senator, this is Knight Tadashi Hamada and my padawan, Hiro Hamada," Cass introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the senator smiled, as she shook their hands. She was quite beautiful, with bright green eyes and blond hair that cascaded down her back. She also wore a pale yellow dress that went down to her knees and a pair of boots with heels so high, Tadashi was impressed _she_ didn't fall into the mud.

"As it is ours to meet you," Tadashi replied.

"So...this mission of ours is protecting you from some of the other locals, right?" asked Hiro, who apparently had zero ability at tact. Fortunately, the senator didn't seem to mind.

"That's one way of putting it. Perhaps I should explain briefly about Joralla's history. Long ago, my people's ancestors came to this planet, looking for a new start. Unfortunately, the planet's only sentient native species were not pleased by their arrival. They are called the Tikiarri, and they tried to eradicate my kind the minute we arrived. They have obviously been unsuccessful in carrying out our extinction, seeing as we are still here. We've been at war with each other for centuries. There are periods of time where the Tikiarri and Wasilsi stop fighting and simply choose to live separate and ignore the other, however those times never last. In more recent years they've been quiet, but they've attacked us every week for the past three months."

One of the men behind her coughed loudly to get their attention, "If I may, Ma'am?"

"Oh, yes of course. I should have introduced you earlier- this is the captain of my guard, Wasabi No-Ginger. Wasabi, you have something to add?" she looked to the man in askance.

"Ahem. Yes, I just wanted to let the Jedi know that the attacks have become increasingly more aggressive as time goes on. Last time we were lucky to get away unscathed. Even with the help of Master Callaghan," the Wasilsi said. Tadashi studied the man closely, trying to gauge how well they'd all work together.

The guard, which it was clearly obvious that he was now that Tadashi looked at him, wore lightweight armor over his chest and arms, though his lower half only sported loose fitting pants and boots. He was tall, even more so than the senator, but had a muscular build that contrasted her thin frame greatly. There was something about his gauntlets that looked unusual too, as if they'd been modified somehow. He'd have to ask about it later. Maybe over a drink. It was quite impressive how attractive the people on this planet were. Oh yeah, they'd get along just fine.

"Well, if it isn't Master Takachiho, her padawan, and what appears to be a mud monster you've unearthed from the depths of the jungle," his former master's voice cut through the air. The people gathered all turned to the approaching man.

"Hi, Master Callaghan, good seeing you too," Tadashi grimaced. For a moment there he'd almost forgotten the fact he was covered head to toe in muck.

"Oh, Tadashi, is that you? My, you've changed since the last time I saw you," Callaghan smirked at him. _Oh har har_.

"What happened to you, son? Get lost in your thoughts and tumble into a pond again?"

"That was _one_ time, and no, I have my lovable little brother to thank for this," Tadashi snorted. Hiro was lucky Jedi were taught to only resort to violence as their last option.

"Ah, I see. I've heard a lot about you, Padawan Hamada. Most entertaining things," the older Jedi smiled benevolently at Hiro, who merely shrugged shyly in response.

 _Wow, that's right; this is the first time Hiro and Master Callaghan have really met. Huh_. _I hope he embarrasses himself in front of him._

"Captain, perhaps we should move our discussions inside. It's getting late, and I'm sure my fellow Jedi are ready to get some rest after their journey. We can all devise a plan tomorrow. In the meantime, we can carry on with the usual procedure. It's highly unlikely the Tikiarri will attack tonight, and if they do we have your men patrolling the area," Callaghan said.

The guard looked thoughtful but agreed to the proposal. Tadashi was horribly relieved. He wanted nothing more than to wash off and get some sleep.

They followed the larger man as he led them to the building they were being housed in. Apparently they were going to be staying at the senator's home to ensure maximum security coverage.

She surprised Tadashi by striking up a conversation shortly after they set off.

"So, Knight Hamada, are you and Padawan Hamada related by any chance? From what I've heard, Jedi don't usually possess families," she smiled warmly, conveying curiosity rather than judgment. He couldn't help but return the smile of someone who seemed so friendly.

"Yes, we're brothers, actually. It's true that it's uncommon for Jedi to have families, since the code discourages us from attachment, but it's not entirely unheard of. Our parents were good friends. They became even closer over time, and it resulted in our conceptions. They were never married though, nor did they live together. Both Hiro and I were unexpected, but welcome, surprises," he explained.

"Fascinating. I'm afraid I don't know as much about the Jedi as I wish I did. You do so much for the galaxy, yet I barely know anything about the lot of you, apart from the general description most people give. I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable by asking you about this," she said, looking a bit sheepish.

He smiled brightly to reassure her, "Not at all. It's refreshing to have someone take genuine interest in our ways. When most people ask about Hiro and I they just assume my parents broke the code and that we're nothing more than mistakes. Even some of our fellow Jedi disapprove of our relation." He tried to keep smiling as he talked, but he was sure it had twisted into more of a grimace by the end. She nodded sadly at his words.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's much easier to judge than it is to try and accept things as they are." The tone of her voice made it sound as though she was speaking from bounds of experience. As a senator she was sure to have her fair share of opposition.

"I must admit though, I do not understand why attachment is looked down upon. Surely you must feel something if you're driven to protecting the people," she continued as if nothing had happened.

"Attachment gives way to strong emotions like passion and anger and fear. It's these things that often lead a person to fall to the dark side.

"This is not to say that we don't feel things. We all have emotions; as Jedi we are taught to rein ours in and let them go when necessary so that we may focus better on our duty,"

The senator bit her lip and looked skyward, thinking it through.

"I guess that makes sense. I just can't help but think how lonely I would be, knowing that I couldn't hold onto the love I feel for others," she turned, pinning him with sharp green eyes. Her gaze was so demanding it almost made him stop in his tracks.

He smiled ruefully in return.

"It's a difficult concept for most to accept. Many outside the Jedi think such a restriction is horrifying. I assure you we've adopted our ways through experience, so it's not without reason. There was once a time when such attachment was allowed, encouraged even. Love is a strong motivator for the light after all. But love can be twisted into darker things all too easily. Countless times there have been Jedi who loved too much and became corrupted by it. So it became that we Jedi swore off attachment."

"Do you think-" she began, only to be cut off by another voice.

"Senator Lemon, Knight Hamada, aren't you coming in?" the captain asked, quirking an eyebrow at them. Tadashi had been so wrapped up in their conversation he hadn't realized they'd made it to their destination.

Like all the buildings he'd seen so far in Joralla, the senator's home celebrated the landscape. It was massive and built into the hillside, surrounded by lush foliage. If he listened closely he thought he could hear a waterfall in the distance.

"Yes of course, my apologies," he said. For once he was glad for the mud on his face- it hid his growing blush.

He stopped before the steps that led to the entrance when another thought popped into his head.

"Um, should I do something about...?" he gestured to his entirety, hoping they'd understand without him saying it.

"Hm? Oh. _Oh_ ," the senator said as realization sunk in, "It shouldn't be much of a problem. But if you're really worried about it, there's a lake out back. You could wash off some of the mud while we get you something to dry you off with," she giggled, hand poised delicately over her mouth. She had a lovely laugh.

"Here, I'll show you the way," she said before grabbing his arm in hers and leading him around the estate.

"Wasabi, you can come too if you're worried about our safety. And hey, if you're lucky, maybe Knight Hamada will take his shirt off for you," the senator winked at the taller man. Tadashi barked out a laugh as the poor man sputtered behind them.

* * *

He did end up removing his shirt to get himself cleaned up, though he kept his pants on.

"So, Senator-"

"Please, call me Honey. There's no need to be so formal here away from prying eyes," she said, sitting down at the edge of a nearby dock. Her feet made swirling patterns in the water.

"Alright then, Honey. I know that the attacks from the Tikiarri are becoming fiercer and more frequent, but why is that? It doesn't seem to be a normal pattern with them; otherwise the Jedi would get more requests about protection from the Wasilsi more often. And according to the records at the Jedi temple, that's not the case. So what brought this on?" he asked, scrubbing at the last vestiges of mud on his arms.

She paused, choosing to look at the scenery rather than answering right away. After a few moments of tense silence she finally sighed and turned back to look at him.

"I wish I could say, but I honestly don't know. The last time we experienced attacks of this magnitude was decades ago, when they wanted to start all out war again. But even then, my people had been building a new temple in unclaimed territory, which had angered the Tikiarri, who didn't want our people to expand any more than they already had.

"This, what we're experiencing right now- it's unprecedented. We can't find any viable reasons for why they're doing this, other than the fact that they don't like us. "

He hummed, laying his head back so that it was partially submerged in the water of the lake.

It just didn't make sense. What was happening here on Joralla? He was missing a piece to the puzzle; he just needed more information... If only there was a way to find out why this was happening.

He sighed, turning his head so that the swollen part of his face rested in the cool water. Dealing with hostile natives was bad enough, and the black eye he'd gotten as soon as they arrived certainly wasn't helping. It was probably time to give Hiro another talk about Jedi responsibility. Unless Cass had already done it...then maybe he could leave it to her...she was Hiro's master after all...and he was so tired...

"Knight Hamada are you all right?" Tadashi opened his eyes to find the senator's face much closer than before. She was leaning over the edge of the dock to peer closer at him.

He suddenly became aware of how long it had been since he'd spoken. Here they were, talking about business, and what did Tadashi do? He nearly fell asleep in the lake. Way to make a second impression.

She smiled gently at him, "Perhaps we should head inside. We should all get some rest while we can. The path ahead will hardly be easy."

"Ah...yes...that would be most wise," he mumbled, pulling himself rather ungracefully out of the water and onto the dock.

He may have been tired, but the small part of him that was still awake gleefully noted how the captain of the guard stared a little slack-jawed before whipping his head away and resolutely refusing to look at him again.

* * *

 **A/N: lol I said I was going to focus on Hiro, but somehow whenever Tadashi's involved I always end up writing too much about him. Surprise, surprise. Also, I have a headcannon that Tadashi's one of those people that just finds everyone attractive in their own way. Pansexual Jedi Tadashi all the way.**

 **Also I want to apologize cuz I'm already 2 chapters in and literally nothing has happened why do I always do this omfg.**

 **And if you're reading this I want to thank you for putting up with my truly terrible rambling writing skills. Wow, saying truly terrible rambling writing skills out loud is kinda hard.**


	3. The Attack

Hiro lay uncomfortably in the bed he'd been given. His master slept on nearby, blissfully unaware of her padawan's discomfort. He tried to sleep as she had told him to, but he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had grown ever stronger since they'd arrived at the senator's home.

The Force was restless.

Something was coming; he knew it. When he expressed his concerns to Master Cass however, she had simply assured him that everything was going to be fine. She felt no disturbances in the Force, and put it up to Hiro's nerves affecting him. After all, they hadn't taken any off planet missions in a long time.

He had believed her at first. But the feeling wouldn't go away. He may not listen to cues from the Force very often, but this time it seemed necessary.

As quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed and tip-toed out of the room to find his brother.

* * *

"So Tadashi, enjoying your stay so far?"

He turned around to smile at his former master.

"You know Master Callaghan, it may have started off a little rocky, but I actually do like it here. Coruscant may be my home, but there's something about being in a place like Joralla, where life flourishes in the open air. It's not contained within cold metal walls, forced into submission. Back home life flourishes in people, but here it comes from nature. It's nice to feel the force flow slower through our surroundings."

"You did enjoy our trips to green worlds best. And what you say is true. To feel the Force move through living beings is joyous, but to feel it through nature is much more peaceful. Peace always did suit you and your healing hands. I must admit, I still don't understand why you didn't specialize in healing," the older man said, throwing an arm around Tadashi's shoulders. He leaned into the friendly touch.

When Tadashi's parents had died he had only been 10 years old. Still in the crèche with the other younglings, not yet a padawan. He had felt so utterly lost when he heard the news. He was supposed to meet up with his father later that day. Instead he learned that while his father was visiting his mother off world, the park they were at was bombed by revolutionaries. He hadn't even felt their passing.

He felt helpless. All he had to hold onto was his little brother, who struggled to understand why they couldn't see their parents anymore. For a long time afterwards he felt lost. Until he was taken as Master Callaghan's apprentice.

Master Callaghan hadn't scolded him for his grief, nor had he ignored it. Instead he was there to offer a comforting hand, wiping away the tears that would come suddenly and unexpected. He gave him hot tea to calm him after night terrors and never once made him feel like a burden. Time, he explained, healed most wounds better than any words could. And it did.

Over the years his master came to serve as much as a father figure as his real father had. Perhaps even more so. There was no bond quite like that between a master and their padawan. He trusted Master Callaghan with every fiber of his being.

"Master, you know as well as I that I prefer to be out in the open helping where I can over sitting in the med bay. Of course I could have helped heal people, but my conscience would never let me lie still if there were people out there who needed me," he replied, poking the other in the side.

Master Callaghan laughed softly, "I suppose you're right. No one can fault you for that." He turned his head away to look at the sprawling landscape beneath the balcony they stood on. He had a pensive look on his face, as though he were struggling with an overwhelming thought.

"Is everything alright, Master?" Tadashi asked, pressing closer him.

His old master turned back to face him, and smiled weakly.

"Nothing to be concerned about just yet, I think. Do not let it worry you," he replied. He still looked a little weary, but Tadashi decided not to press it.

"Come along now, you should be returning to your room. You've had quite a day; I should think you would have fallen asleep hours ago." Master Callaghan gave him a pointed look.

"I just had some things on my mind is all," Tadashi said defensively.

"Hmm."

He sighed. "Fine, you're right- I'll go get some rest.'Master knows best' and all."

"Indeed. While we're at it, why don't you have something to eat before you go to bed. You didn't eat much at dinner," Master Callaghan pointed out. He reached an arm out over the balcony, the recognizable form morphing into a stream of white to grab at a tree nearby. A hand reappeared at the end of it, and he used it to pluck one of the plump pieces of fruit off a branch before retracting his arm to drop it in his former padawan's hands.

It was so easy to forget that his former master wasn't human. It wasn't as if it was a secret. It was a widely known fact that Robert Callaghan was one of the Shi'ido- a race of shape shifters. Master Callaghan simply chose to stay in the form he was in now out of preference. His natural form tended to unsettle people. Tadashi himself didn't think much of it, but others...well, they had their own opinions.

"Thanks, Mom," he said, grinning at the older man as the two turned around to walk inside.

Callaghan opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off abruptly by a cacophony of screeching coming from behind them.

Tadashi spun around in horror as dozens of winged creatures flew out from the trees and swarmed the estate.

* * *

Hiro had only made partway down the hall from his room before the shrieking broke through the once silent night air.

There was half a second before he felt the swell of panic through the household. People woke startled and confused, before comprehension and terror sunk in, shaking off any more thoughts of sleep.

Master Cass burst out of the room, robes hastily thrown on and light saber out.

"Hiro! Take your saber-quickly now! We have to protect the senator," she said, tossing him his weapon and dashing down the hallway to the senator's rooms.

He fumbled a bit but managed to keep a hold on his light saber, activating it as he ran after her.

Ice gripped his heart when he heard the senator's ear piercing scream. Master Cass didn't bother knocking, throwing the door open and charging in.

He was only a few seconds behind her, but she was already far ahead of him carving a path to the senator.

The room was swarming with what he could only assumed were the Tikiarri. In hindsight, he should have paid more attention to what their opposition looked like. If he'd read the data pad his master had given to him earlier more carefully he wouldn't have been so woefully unprepared.

The Tikiarri had huge wings and beaks, and talons that were sharp as razors. A couple of them had burns from his master's light saber and some of them seemed to be stuck to the walls in weird pink goo. He had no idea where that had come from , but he wasn't about to complain. It meant there were less of them to attack them.

"Hiro, look out!" his master shouted as one of them launched themselves at him.

He had just enough time to bring his saber up and deflect the creature's beak. It screamed and leapt back, but only for a moment before attacking fiercer than ever. The next few moments were a blur as he fought simply to stay alive. Fighting the Tikiarri was vastly different from his training sessions back home. It was hard to keep track of so many opponents when he was so used to fighting against just one. Not to mention, he usually only fought people with sabers or other hand to hand combat weapons. Beaks and talons were not his specialty.

He cursed when one of them managed to slip past his defenses and tear at his arm. The pain was immediate and hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to take care of it lest something worse happened.

Unfortunately the damage to his arm made it easier for the Tikiarri to reach him. He felt his breath escape as a powerful wing knocked him off his feet.

He looked up into a pair of beady eyes and watched, frozen, as their talons descended on him.

A flash of light appeared and slashed the space between them, causing the Tikiar to screech and beat a hasty retreat.

"Hiro! Are you okay? Come on, get up," Tadashi shouted above the noise, reaching a hand down to haul him to his feet. His brother turned swiftly to ward off more of their attackers.

Hiro took a moment to catch his breath while the Tikiarri faced their new opponents. He watched in awe as his brother cut them down with ease. Tadashi was off world so often that it was rare for Hiro to watch his brother fight, even in practice matches. Unlike Hiro's frantic attempts to keep the Tikiarri off of him, Tadashi moved gracefully. His light saber was a true extension of him as he flipped through the air, forcing them away from their position. Unlike Hiro, he wasn't forced to keep up a defensive stance.

It wasn't just him fending off their advance though. Hiro saw Master Callaghan pressing his way through them to get to the senator's side like his master. He also recognized the captain of the guard doing the same, deadly blades of energy attached to his gauntlets as he slashed at the Tikiarri.

Re-energized, he threw himself back into the fray; this time trying to reach the senator. With the help of the more experienced warriors beside him, they made it safely to the senator's side. She looked a little scraped up, but overall alright. Strands of hair fell across her face, but she didn't seem to mind. She was more focused on lobbing colorful pink balls at the Tikiarri. He watched as one hit their mark, exploding across a Tikiar's chest and plastering them to the ceiling. That explained the mysterious pink goo.

"I think it would be best if we moved out of here, Senator Lemon!" Master Cass yelled, slashing one of the Tikiarri on their legs.

"Agreed. Make your way to the launch site- Knight Hamada and I will cover you," Master Callaghan called out. The older man turned to Tadashi briefly to share a look before launching themselves at the Tikiarri with renewed vigor.

Hiro didn't want to leave his brother, but he knew he had no choice. The mission came first.

He and the others managed to untangle themselves from the battle and took off down the hallway. They ran down the twisting hallways and reached the bottom of the stairs before they heard a door slam loudly where they had retreated from and the pounding footsteps that signaled the other jedis' coming. The sound of the door splintering came soon after.

They through themselves out the main doors and kept running.

The Tikiarri swarmed the streets, civilians screaming and running, or trying to fight back. Some of them held colorful orbs like the senator and were throwing them at the Tikiarri with varying effects. There were Tikiarri stuck to various objects in pink goo, and others frozen over in sheets of ice. Some of them, he saw, were charred to a crisp, bodies twitching on the ground. He suddenly understood how the Wasilsi had managed to survive this long on Joralla.

"This way! It's a shortcut to the launch site!" the captain of the guard pointed to a smaller overgrown path.

Hiro spared only a moment to look back to check if his brother was still following them. It was a mistake.

He turned just in time to see one of the Tikiarri make a vicious slash at his brother's face, cutting stripes of red across it. His brother's cry of pain as he hit the ground filled his veins with ice.

"Tadashi!" He turned around and started to run back, but his brother snapped his head up to meet his eyes.

"Hiro, no! Go with the senator! I'll be fine, just focus on the mission," Tadashi shouted, motioning his hand towards the figures retreating down the path.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Tadashi was right. The mission came first. The mission came _first_.

He dodged the swiping talons of the Tikiarri as he barreled down the path to catch up to the others.

* * *

Tadashi almost sagged in relief when Hiro retreated down the path. He couldn't let his brother forgo his duty just because he was worried about Tadashi. He wished he had time to take a breather, but sadly the onslaught of Tikiarri was never-ending. He never expected them to attack so soon, and in such magnitude. Something was definitely wrong on Joralla. The force was buzzing in discontent.

He rolled away from a beak that threatened to take out his eyes, bringing up his saber to slice off a chunk of wing. The resulting shriek almost brought him to his knees at the proximity. He cut off the creature's head while it was distracted. He wiped his forearm across his face, trying to stop the blood dripping into his eyes.

He spun around when he heard his former master shout. The chaos of the streets made it hard to pinpoint him at first, but he found him in the end. A throng of Tikiarri had set upon him all at once, disarming him and carrying him into the sky.

"Master Callaghan!" he screamed, but it was no use. They were too far for him to help.

He took one last look around before bolting down the path the other's had took. He had a mission to finish. The mission always came first, he reminded himself, swallowing his horror.

* * *

"There! The launch site is clear, so we should be able to leave quickly," the captain of the guard said. Hiro wished he could remember his name, but in the recent pandemonium he had forgotten it.

They were lucky the Tikiarri hadn't reached the site yet. They must have been more focused on the more heavily populated areas.

Joralla didn't get many visitors due to the warring nature of the locals, so there weren't many ships around. There was a very official looking one that Hiro bet his arm and leg must have been for the senator to make trips to Coruscant in, and a few cargo holders. They headed towards the official looking one until the Tikiar appeared and cut them off.

If he hadn't had fast reflexes the guard would have gotten his nose taken clear off when the Tikiar dived out of the sky at him. Fortunately he got to keep his nose, leaping back and taking a protective stance in front of the senator.

The Tikiar screeched, calling in reinforcements as it charged them.

The others fended off the Tikiarri as they appeared while Hiro ripped open one of the cargo holder's door controls. He fiddled around with it frantically until it eventually opened the doors for them.

"I got it!" he shouted, gesturing them wildly toward the doors. Sometime while he'd been preoccupied his brother had rejoined them, and he felt an immense weight lift off his chest.

The senator and the guard ran in first, followed quickly by Tadashi. His brother fired up the engines and began to lift off. Hiro scrambled inside, turning around to give his master a hand. She swung a hand out to shove the Tikiarri away with a Force push, and then reached up to grab his hand.

He should have been more careful. He shouldn't have let his guard down so easily when it seemed like they were in the clear.

One second his master was reaching out a hand for him to pull her onto the ship. The next she was replaced with a flurry of leathery wings and sharp talons digging into her skin. He watched in horror as she was ripped away from him and thrown limply to the side.

The only thing that kept Hiro from the same fate was a blue orb exploding in a sheet of ice over the Tikiar as it reached toward him. He stared numbly as it fell away- as they all fell away and the doors closed, shutting out the image of his master lying unmoving on the ground below. He barely noticed the senator's hand resting on his shoulder or the words she was trying to comfort him with.

All he could hear was the sound of the engines making the adjustment to leap into hyperspace.

* * *

 **A/N: Just so we're clear, Tikiar is the singular version of Tikiarri.**

 **Also, due to a recent comment, I feel like I should let you all know that this is not actually set in the same time frame as The Force Awakens- it's actually set before any of the movies. I guess I only said that part when I posted it on ao3 lol.**


	4. Sith Happens

"Padawan Hamada? Your brother told me to tell you that we'll be docking at Genon in half an hour."

Hiro sat slumped over a chair, uninterested in moving. He glanced briefly at Senator Lemon before resuming his staring match with the wall.

"Thanks, Senator."

She hovered for a moment, and he could feel her uncertainty permeate the air. He tensed, waiting for her to mention the one thing he didn't want to talk about, but she said nothing.

She left him with a warm hand on his shoulder and nothing more.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been three days since they fled from Joralla. Three days since his master had been stuck down. Three days since he felt their training bond snap. Three days since his entire universe had shifted into something he no longer recognized.

He let his eyes slide shut and slowed down his breathing. Meditation was easier now that he felt so empty.

* * *

"Knight Hamada, do you think your brother will be alright?" Honey asked as she returned to the cockpit.

Tadashi sighed, "I wish I knew the answer to that. Losing a master as a padawan is uncommon for jedi. And it's not like there's a set reaction to grief." He smiled ruefully at her.

"Of course... I just can't help but worry for him. And for you as well. Master Callaghan was the one who trained you wasn't he?"

He scrubbed a hand across his face, fingers catching on the raised skin of his new scars. He was too tired for this, but it wouldn't do him any good to avoid the topic.

"Yes. Yes, he was. We've suffered great losses this mission, and I-" he broke off his words, voice too hoarse to continue.

"You said he was carried away. There's a chance he could still be alive," she said, trying to comfort him. A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"I did. It's just- there was something...something in the Force. I felt it right before we flew into hyperspace. I don't know what it was, but it felt so horribly wrong. It's hard to explain... I just knew we had to get out of there as fast and as far away as possible. That's why we've been using back channels and haven't stopped anywhere yet. But our provisions are running low, and I think it's best of we got rid of this ship."

"Do you have a plan?" Wasabi asked as he walked up to them. Tadashi was so tired he hadn't even felt his presence until then.

"I think so... I've been here before, so I know a few people around these parts. I'm hoping one of them will take us on board to Coruscant."

"Why don't we just take this ship? Is there something wrong with it?" Wasabi asked, glancing around in concern.

"No, no. It's structurally sound. But I think the problems on your planet are more concerning than I previously thought. As a whole to the galaxy I mean."

Honey and Wasabi shared a worried look.

"Could you explain?" Honey asked timidly.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"I'm honestly not sure how to. But that thing I felt in the force- nothing should ever feel that corrupt, not even the Tikiarri. They felt way different than that...disturbance. The only thing I can think of that would feel that wrong..." he trailed off, not meeting their eyes.

"What is it, Tadashi?" Honey asked, surprising him by using his first name.

"The sith. Only the sith corrupt the force in such a way," he said, voice barely a whisper.

"But nobody's seen the sith in years. Why would they be on Joralla? We aren't considered influential in the Republic- we barely leave our home planet," Wasabi exclaimed.

"I don't know. I just don't know. But I believe that whatever- or whoever- caused that disturbance in the Force is involved with the Tikiarri becoming more aggressive lately. I think it's best of we just lay low, and distance ourselves from any association with Joralla for now."

"My people need help-"

"And I wish we could give it to them, but we can't go back there right now," Tadashi cut her off. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am, but we can't go back there right now. It's too dangerous. Once we get to Coruscant I can explain things to the Jedi Council, and they'll come up with a plan."

"I don't have a thirst for violence, but I can't just sit back in silence while our people get slaughtered," Wasabi spoke up.

"Your people have survived generations against the Tikiarri; I doubt they would go down easily."

"You said there was a sith there! What chance do they have against that?" Wasabi burst out.

"The fact there is a sith there is exactly why we need to go to the Council. The four of us in this cargo ship aren't likely to make a difference against a threat like that."

"But Tadashi-"

" _No_. The two of you don't seem to grasp the situation. You're both formidable opponents, but you don't have the right skill sets to fight a sith. Hiro's just a padawan, who lost his master. And I'm- I'm just one knight. And I've never faced anything like this before.

"We had _two_ jedi masters with us, and now we have none. If we weren't enough to contend with back when we had them, then how could we possibly face our opponents now?"

The Wasilsi were silent in the wake of his words, unable to argue against his logic. They wanted to help their people, but they were powerless to do so.

"I'm sorry," he said again. He turned back to the controls, preparing for landing.

* * *

"So...this is Genon," Wasabi said, though the tone of his voice made it sound like a question.

Tadashi chuckled, "It's a little more rough and tumble around here, but don't worry. As long as we keep to ourselves and don't get in anyone's way not too many people should bother us."

"How many is 'not too many'?" the other questioned.

Tadashi ignored him.

"There's a cantina over there. Once we get in start looking for a short human woman. She has short black hair with a streak of purple in it- at least she did last time I saw her. Probably wearing a leather jacket. She'll either look indifferent or mad as hell," Tadashi said, making his way through the crowds of people littering the streets. Wasabi had a lot of questions but decided to keep them to himself.

Inside the cantina it was noisy to say the least. There was a band performing some upbeat music and plenty of patrons shouting over each other in the din. The lights were low, the air was filled with smoke, and it reeked of alcohol.

Tadashi pushed through the throngs of people to make it to the bar and order something non-alcoholic while he scanned the room. Wasabi sidled up next to him and followed his lead. It was for him to see anything clearly in the cantina, much less the person Tadashi specifically told him about.

The bartender handed over their drinks and the two leaned back against the bar while they looked around.

"How do you know this woman will show up?" Wasabi asked, fiddling with his glass.

"I don't," Tadashi replied, sipping his drink delicately. He glanced at Wasabi's slack jawed expression.

"If it makes you feel any better, she's usually here. And if she's not, she's around often enough that someone else will tell us about it."

"How do you know that?"

"I've come around often enough to see her that they associate me with her." Tadashi stopped his search momentarily when he felt hostile eyes on him. He looked to his left, noticing a very displeased Togruta giving him the stink eye.

"Oh. So you uh, you _see_ each other often?" Wasabi stuttered out, face heating up. Tadashi swept his gaze back to the other man and smiled.

"I don't think Gogo would appreciate it. I'm not really her type," he spoke easily, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Wasabi briefly wondered how the man beside him could possibly not be anyone's type. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by an angry looking Togruta.

"What business does a jedi have around these parts?" the humanoid spat. Wasabi set his drink down to prepare for the worst, but Tadashi held a hand up to stop him.

"Just looking for a friend, that's all," he said calmly.

"Your type got no friends around here," the other bit out, grabbing him by his robes. Wasabi reached a hand up to activate his gauntlets.

"You damn idiot, get lost. That jedi's mine," an annoyed voice called. Two seconds later a yellow disc cut through the air and hit them hard in the head. The Togruta let Tadashi go, wobbling slightly on their feet. A small woman stepped up and shoved the disoriented the alien out of the way.

"Hi Gogo. Business treating you well?" Tadashi asked casually, smiling like he saw nothing wrong with their situation. Wasabi shook his head. Were all jedi this nonchalant about their safety?

"Shut up, and move your asses outside. I was just leaving, and I'm not stopping for you idiots," the fiery young woman snapped. They decided it was in their best interest to do as she said.

"Now what do you want, Hamada?" Gogo asked once they were back on the street.

"Transportation if you're available. For us and two others," Tadashi replied.

"Where to?"

"Coruscant."

"Ugh. Who are the other passengers besides you and jumpy over there?" Gogo asked, pointing behind them at Wasabi who was walking a few steps back.

"A senator and my little brother." Her eyes snapped over to him in surprise.

"So I finally get to meet the pipsqueak, huh? Trying to teach him your nefarious seducing ways?"

Tadashi squeaked in indignation, "I do not have 'nefarious seducing ways'!"

"No, you're right; you're too soft-hearted for that. You seduce people with your weirdly relentless charm and good looks," she said, giving him the side-eye. Wasabi almost tripped over his feet. He was expecting a much more professional conversation for some reason.

Tadashi huffed, "We're getting off topic. Will you take us to Coruscant?"

"Fine, but I'm not running a charity. I expect to get paid well for taking all of you to that hellhole.

"You spend hours rooting through droid corpses on Ronyards, but Coruscant is a hellhole to you?"

"Ronyards isn't full of self-righteous jedi and senators," she sniffed.

"No, it's just a the giant body of an abominor that occasionally tries to eat you," he snorted.

"Oh shut it, Hamada. You and your great nerdy self love rooting through that junkyard for spare parts and droids to patch up, so you don't get to judge."

"Um, excuse me?" They turned around as Wasabi cut in. "I don't mean to interrupt, but someone's been following us for a while. Should I be concerned?"

The pair looked behind them and noticed a hooded figure following at a distance. They looked at each other before replying.

"Don't worry about it for now. Lots of shifty folk around here. Let's just grab your other friends and get to my ship," Gogo said, shrugging. She had an uneasy feeling, but she brushed it aside. She had work to do.

* * *

Honey paced around the cargo ship restlessly. She wished she had something to distract herself with. Oh, when were Tadashi and Wasabi going to return?

Almost on cue, she heard the main doors open and voices filter through the hallway.

"You're back!" she exclaimed, rushing to the others.

"Hi Honey- hope you've been doing okay while we were gone," Tadashi smiled at her. Wasabi looked relieved to be back, practically sagging against the wall.

" _Honey_?" an incredulous voice asked. For the first time, she noticed a short human woman standing beside the jedi. "I thought your alien boyfriend was the one who used nicknames. I also thought you'd be a little more faithful to him, since you're such a goody-two-shoes."

"He's not my boyfriend, and that's not a nickname- it's her actual name," Tadashi frowned at the woman.

"He's your _something_ ," she grumbled before popping a stick of gum in her mouth.

Wasabi and Honey just stared.

"We are not getting into this right now," Tadashi gave her a pointed look. "Anyways Honey, this is Gogo. She'll be giving us a lift to Coruscant. Gogo, this is Senator Honey Lemon. Be nice."

Honey held a hand out in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Gogo."

The shorter woman stared impassively at her. Honey held her hand out awkwardly for a few more seconds before letting it drop back to her side.

"Whatever. Get your pipsqueak brother and let's get going, Hamada. Faster I get you jedi out of my hair the better," Gogo said before turning around and marching back outside.

Tadashi sighed, "She'll lighten up once you get to know her."

Honey nodded, but she wasn't sure she believed him.

* * *

"This is your ship?" Wasabi asked, looking questioningly at it.

"She's faster than she looks. She's had a lot of work done on her hyperdrive- that was Hamada's last payment for my services," Gogo replied, kicking the side of the ship lightly.

"You know hyperdrives?" Honey asked. Would Tadashi ever cease to amaze her?

"Only a little. It was actually a friend of mine who did the work," the jedi smiled ruefully.

Gogo snorted loudly, "By 'friend' he means 'boyfriend'."

" _Gogo_." Tadashi rolled his eyes.

The more time they spent around Gogo, the more the Wasilsi wondered who this not-quite-boyfriend of Tadashi's was. They may or may not have been a little jealous.

Hiro, who had previously been staring disinterestedly at his feet, snapped his head up to look at his brother. Tadashi had a boyfriend?

Gogo scanned the ships around them.

"Hurry up and get in," she ordered, waving her arm impatiently at the open doors. The others scurried inside, but Tadashi waited.

"You sense them too?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. Looks like our friendly stalker from before is still around. You got any idea who it is?"

"No. But I don't think we should stay to find out."

"I was just about to say myself-" she started when blaster fire broke out around them.

" _Shit_ ," she cursed. "Get inside!" she grabbed his arm, but he stayed in place.

He focused on the figures firing on them, reaching through the force to shove them hard.

He spun around and ran inside once they were sprawled out, Gogo closing the doors behind them.

"Tadashi what-?"

"No time! We're leaving _now_. Gogo?"

"Hang on, Hamada- give me a second will ya?" she snapped, flinging herself into the pilot's seat. Tadashi swung into the copilot's seat and the two began flipping switches and pressing buttons to lift off.

"What the hell did you get me into, Hamada?" Gogo asked as they began their ascent, leaving the surface and blaster fire behind.

"Sorry, Gogo. I'll pay you back," he grimaced.

"Yeah, well-"

"Uh, whose ship is that?" Wasabi asked, gesturing to the massive ship ahead of them.

In mere moments of him asking the colossus in front of them opened fire.

" _SHIT_! Hamada I swear to the Force or whatever, if my ship doesn't make it out of this I'll-"

"Just go!" he shouted. He was trying hard not to panic, but things were not going well. He had hoped once they escaped Joralla and ditched their cargo ship they'd been in the clear, but obviously not. That person watching them must have had a lot of friends. They'd chased them right into the clutches of this behemoth.

"Try and lose them in hyperspace!" Hiro called. In any other circumstances Tadashi would have been happy that his brother was finally contributing to their mission again. Getting shot at really changed a person's perspective.

"We're making the jump- hold on to your ovaries!" Gogo shouted.

The stars phased into beams of light as they shot through space.

"We're on the Hydian Way, so we should get to Coruscant in a few hours if all goes well. No promises though," she sagged in relief. The rest of them released the tension in their bodies, and took deep breaths.

"We should be safe though, right? They can't catch us in hyperspace," Honey said uncertainly.

"No, they can't catch is in hyperspace. Unfortunately the hyperspace lanes don't extend seamlessly all the way to Coruscant. We'll have to go through some gaps between the lanes. We can only hope they won't catch up to us there," Tadashi explained.

Honey and Wasabi looked worriedly at each other. How had things spiraled so fast?

"Nothing's damaged too badly right now, so just get some rest while you can. We'll figure this out," Tadashi said, trying to reassure them.

"There's some chairs and blankets in the room three doors to the left," Gogo said. The Wasilsi hesitated, but Hiro immediately went to go claim a chair. He didn't have nearly enough energy for this.

* * *

"Alright the hyperlane breaks off here. Brace yourselves," Gogo said, taking the ship out of hyperspeed,

They all took a cautious look around.

"Well, so far so good. Just a bunch of satellites and-" Hiro was interrupted by a loud crash as the ship rocked beneath them.

"Dammit, Mini-Hamada, you had to jinx us," Gogo sighed in resignation.

The colossal ship they had thought they left behind on Genon appeared out of hyperspace.

"Shield level dropping- please tell me they'll hold long enough to get us out of here," Tadashi told Gogo.

"Shut your pie-hole, Hamada. I haven't had time to look at the shields in a while," Gogo retorted.

"Well, they're dropping really fast!" Hiro squeaked. He pointed wildly at the monitor indicating their shielding.

Gogo maneuvered around the satellites and other ships as well as she could, trying to get out of the other ship's range.

"Shield level 20%," the automated dashboard voice spoke.

"We're right by Wukkar- if you get us there-"

"You don't have to tell me, Hamada! I figured it out on my own. Your fucking boyfriend better be there, or I'll kill him," the pilot snarled.

"Why does there have to be so many damn satellites around Wukkar?" she screamed as she swerved to avoid one. Blaster fire continued to hail down on them, and there shields were almost gone.

"Shield level 10%," the automated voice continued.

"We're almost in the atmosphere. As long as we don't take any more big hits, we should be fine," Hiro spoke quickly.

It was that untimely moment that the other ship strengthened their attack. It appeared that they had been waiting for their plasma cannon to charge before firing at them with it.

The metal ship screamed when the cannon hit, knocking them out of the sky, and sending the dashboard into flashing lights and warnings.

Hiro felt his stomach crawl into his throat as they broke through the clouds at break neck speeds toward the planet's surface.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gogo will get nicer I swear. Also I don't actually know that much about starships, and I tried researching up on them, but it got so annoying, so I stopped trying so hard lol.

Side note: Do you guys know how many goddamn planets they made for star wars? So many. It's crazy. I'm not making any of the planets in this fic up, I shit you not they all are all part of the star wars universe, and I didn't even had to try hard to find them. I've taken some liberties with them mind you, but the base information is all canon. Which is truly a godsend because I have the creative force of a mud soaked rock when it comes to naming things.

Also Yay! Fred's finally showing up! And idk if I mentioned here or just on ao3 about this fic not being super gay, but you know what I changed my fucking mind. It's gonna get 100x gayer, you're welcome. (well it probably will anyway, still haven't made up my mind, but leaning strongly in favor of the gay)


	5. Meet the Not-Boyfriend

There were times where Tadashi was the perfect embodiment of Jedi calm during times of great duress. This was not one of those times.

Currently, he was a screaming mess of Jedi panic as he and his companions hurtled towards the surface of Wukkar.

"Gogo, turn on the auxiliary power!" he screamed.

She snapped her head around to glare so intensely at him he considered it a miracle he didn't melt on the spot. "It got busted on my last supply run, and I haven't had time to get it fixed yet," she snarled.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

"SUCK A COCK, HAMADA, I'M A BUSY PERSON-WE CAN'T ALL PRANCE AROUND THE GALAXY PREACHING SUNSHINE AND DAISIES!"

Tadashi wanted to scream some more, but somehow he didn't think it would help.

 _Think, Tadashi, think_.

"Do you have any tools around?" Hiro leapt forward to ask.

"What?!" Gogo turned to him incredulously.

" _Do you have any tools around_? I might be able to fix the auxiliary power if it wasn't damaged too badly," he pressed, looking at Tadashi in a way as though he was asking for permission. As if he was actually gonna turn around and say, 'Sorry Hiro, I'm not gonna let you save us, just enjoy the fall as we plummet to our grisly deaths'.

Tadashi hastily pried open the compartment beneath his feet and flung the toolbox inside it at his little brother. Bless Hiro for being such a technology whiz.

Gogo flung herself out of her seat and ripped open one of the wall panels, so Hiro could reach the wiring for the power.

Tadashi thanked the Force that somehow the ship's artificial gravity had kept intact and they didn't have to scramble around for purchase. So that was one thing to be thankful for. In comparison to the thousand things he felt less than grateful about.

Tadashi and the others were torn between watching Hiro in anxious hope and staring out the cockpit at their unfortunate deaths.

Within moments of Hiro's declaration the ship cleared the planet's atmosphere, the air around it lighting up in flames. It cast a weirdly beautiful glow around them that almost made Tadashi forget about how horrible it was that it was occurring in the first place.

"Um, not to make things worse, but we're about to hit some serious traffic," Wasabi squealed, pointing out the window at the multitudes of ships below them.

"Is there anything we can do to avoid-"

"We can't do jack-shit without more power," Gogo cut off the senator. She wore an expression of stone, but Tadashi saw the worry in her eyes. If they made it out of this alive, he was going to owe her big time.

"Oh kriff, we're going to die," Wasabi wailed. He pulled at his hair and tried not to rip it all out.

"We're not going to die, Wasabi. Think positively!" Honey patted him consolingly, but her smile was strained and her voice was just shy of convincing.

"I thought we were going to smash into the planet's surface and die alone, but we're not! We're going to hit about 40 of those other ships and kill them too!" Tadashi cringed. He wished he could say the other was exaggerating, but Wukkar was one of the most heavily populated planets in the galaxy. It had nearly 200 billion inhabitants, and completely missing any of them during their fall was a long shot.

"Brace for impact," he shouted as they neared the bustling chaos that was Wukkar's traffic.

Fortunately for them, the Wukkaran's seemed to have noticed the fiery mass that was speeding towards them and attempted to avoid collision. But like he said, there were 200 billion people and traffic was hectic, so they were bound to hit someone. They scraped a sports cruiser 3 seconds in and narrowly missed a full on collision with an ambulance. That would have been a tragically ironic way to die.

"Auxiliary power activated," the automated dashboard voice crackled, and Gogo leveled out the ship, swerving out of the way of an oncoming funeral procession. She roughed up a few other ships in the process, but all things considered they were doing fantastic. Tadashi almost wept with joy.

"Great job, Hiro!" he cheered instead. He took back anything disapproving he'd ever said about Hiro in the past fourteen years. The kid was clearly the most wonderful thing he'd ever set eyes upon.

"Gogo, can you get us to-"

"Yes, Hamada. I'll try and get us to your boyfriend. Let me find my bearing's first- we almost died for fuck's sake." She rolled her eyes and snorted.

Tadashi meanwhile, felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "He's not my boyfriend," he mumbled half heartedly. He tried _very hard_ to ignore the stares of the three remaining passengers.

"Well, if navigation's correct, we're a long ways away from your not-boyfriend. So buckle down and pray we make it there in one piece."

Force, he really hoped they would. He was not willing to deal with anything less.

* * *

"Gogo~!" a cheery voice greeted the group as they piled out of their smoldering ship. A man sauntered up to them, beaming at them all the while.

"And you brought friends, wow! That's unusu- Tadashi!" he all but screamed before throwing himself at the Jedi and engulfing him in a bone crushing hug.

Hiro, Honey, and Wasabi all took a moment to look over him while he chatted amicably with the other two. He was about Tadashi's height, but that was where their similarities ended. He had straw-colored hair that reached his chin, a prominent nose, and lanky limbs. His clothes were covered in grease stains, new and old, and looked like they were haphazardly thrown on him at random. The nicest thing on him was his hat, which may have just been because it was the only thing remotely clean.

"Hi Fred," Tadashi gasped out. He was a little worse for wear, and the hug kind of hurt. But at the same time, it was really nice. Like really, _really_ nice. He'd missed Fred a lot more than he was willing to admit.

"What happened to your ship? And more importantly, what happened to _you_?" Fred asked pulling back to get a better look at him. He reached up to prod gently at the scars across his face. Tadashi silently mourned the hug ending, and shied away from Fred's hand.

The other frowned as Tadashi looked away, shifting his weight and clearing his throat. "It's nothing," he stammered. Truth be told, he was a little embarrassed by the scars. He wasn't particularly vain, but he'd seen them in the mirror. They weren't pretty. They were jagged and scabbed over and made his face look like the tattered remains of an art piece someone had torn up and thrown away. He'd rather not have Fred spend too much time focusing on them.

Really, he didn't mind them much. Up until this second he hadn't cared about them at all, except for how itchy they got. He hadn't minded Honey or Wasabi looking at them either, but when Fred did it... Well, it was different.

"Can you two do your sickening lovey-dovey crap later? My ship needs fixing, and Force only knows how long we have before those bastards find us again," Gogo cut in. Tadashi sent a silent thought of thanks to her when Fred turned his attention to the woman.

"What do you need me to do for you?" he asked tilting his head towards the ship.

"A lot. For now though, I'll settle for shields and the hyper drive," she replied curtly.

"The hyper drive? What did you do to it now?" he asked as he wandered over to inspect the damage.

Tadashi let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He took a moment to collect himself before walking over and helping Gogo explain what happened.

He didn't notice the three pairs of eyes that had been watching the whole exchange like hawks.

Now, Honey and Wasabi were intrigued by this strange new man that had captured the Jedi's attention and broken his calm exterior. The only other thing that had managed to do that was impending death. And this new man didn't seem anything like that.

Hiro on the other hand...well, he was a little skeptical. He'd known Tadashi a lot longer, and he'd never seen him act like this either. This worried him.

Why did it worry him? Well, how should he put it?

Tadashi was held up on a pedestal back on Coruscant for being such a good role model for the other Jedi. He was practically the code in living form. And the code was very strict about the whole 'not being ruled by your emotions' thing. And what he saw right there was definitely an emotion driven reaction.

His brother was only human, so it wasn't really surprising that he slipped up like anyone else. It was just that usually the emotions that effected his decisions were annoyance or compassion. This one was new.

Hiro had kind of been curious about Tadashi's secret boyfriend ever since Gogo mentioned him, but he hadn't taken it very seriously. He just figured Gogo was teasing him.

But now that he saw them together...he was starting to wonder if she was telling the truth.

He definitely wasn't naive enough to think that Tadashi was a virgin. For Kriff's sake half the people at the temple tried to get in his pants when he was there, and it wasn't like he tried to discourage them. The thing is, those relationships- whether they had any semblance of romance or not- were always casual. Tadashi always seemed to like the people he slept with, but he didn't form any sort of special feelings for them either. Not from what Hiro saw at least.

He'd seen this Fred person with his brother for like a minute, and he already knew Tadashi felt more strongly for him than any of his past relationships.

Almost nothing in the galaxy made Tadashi self conscious. But Fred did.

It was deeply concerning to Hiro who was attempting to figure out how Tadashi was going to keep up his perfect Jedi facade. He was happy his brother found someone he cared so much for. He just wasn't sure the rest of the Order would feel the same.

Attachment, after all, had a way of leading others to the dark side.

"Hiro? Did you hear me?" his brother's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Huh?"

Tadashi snorted lightly, "I said, 'The repairs are going to take a few hours at least. It'll probably go faster if we help Fred out with what we can'. You gonna lend a hand?" He smiled teasingly at him.

"Oh, uh, sure. What are we helping out with?"

Tadashi gave him a wry grin. "Oh I'm sure there'll be something for us to do."

* * *

"Can you hand me that thing over there with the red tape on it? No, not that one. The other one," Fred pointed as Tadashi attempted to figure out what tool he was asking for.

"This one?"

"Nope. To the left," Fred popped his head up from his spot under the floor grates to instruct him.

Tadashi hand hovered over an odd little corkscrew with battered red tape peeling off its end.

"Yeah, that one," Fred smiled before disappearing from sight again.

Tadashi sighed as he scooted over to him, peering down at him while he worked on the hyper drive. They'd been working for about two hours, one of which had just been to fix the shields. There really wasn't much for the others to do, so Fred had sent them off to go rest while he worked. Tadashi had elected to stay and help, even if it wasn't much.

He was sort of regretting it now that the adrenaline from earlier had drained him of all his energy. But he'd be damned if he let Fred do everything by himself when he had nothing to do with it.

He was extremely tired though. He stifled a yawn in his shoulder.

"You look tired, Smiles. Why don't you go take a nap like your friends? I'll be fine on my own," Fred chuckled, poking his knee gently where it sat at level with his eyes.

Tadashi absolutely did not pout. Jedis did not pout.

"M'fine," he mumbled, holding out the corkscrew for Fred to grab.

He just smirked at him instead, giving him a sly look. If Tadashi was a little more awake he would have known something was up, but as it was he didn't suspect anything.

Quick as a whip, Fred's arms elongated and scaly claws reached out to grab Tadashi and pull him below the grates to the other.

"Fred!" he squeaked.

"What?" the other looked up coyly at him from beneath his lashes, arms returning to their previous state. "I just figured if you were going to pretend not to sleep, you could do it somewhere comfier." Somewhere comfier being Fred's lap apparently.

It wasn't as if he was _wrong_.

It was pretty comfy. And he was pretty tired...

"Really Smiles, you've gotta rest sometime. I've got it handled here." He ran his hands up and down Tadashi's back soothingly while the other rested his head on his shoulder.

"It doesn't seem fair to leave you with all the work though," Tadashi sighed. Even as he spoke the words, his eyes were fighting to stay open.

"Aww, that's so nice of you. But it is kinda my job. So, y'know, it's not as if you're doing anything wrong. But thanks for the thought," Fred said. Tadashi could feel his chuckles vibrate through his chest.

"But-"

"No buts. Get some sleep," Fred ordered, brushing the hair off Tadashi's forehead and placing a soft kiss at his temple.

Tadashi grumbled a bit, but he knew Fred was right. He stood up carefully, so as not to disturb the litany of supplies Fred had already requested from him.

He was promptly pushed back into Fred's lap when a blast shook the ship.

A sick feeling twisted in his gut, and he felt the screaming of the Force as it warned him of what was approaching. The Sith had found them.


	6. Remember:It Can Always Get Worse

"What the kriff-?" Fred asked, pulling Tadashi and himself upright and out of their little niche. He glanced around at the ship as if it would magically reveal what was going on.

"Fred," Tadashi gulped, trying to push back his fear. "Is the ship okay to fly? Could we make it off planet?"

The other looked at him warily, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before finally deciding what to say.

"I think so. It just needs a little tweaking- it'll probably take seven minutes, tops. But I still don't think it's a very good idea to push her very far."

"Okay. Okay. Do what you can and then get as far away as you can. Gogo has that secret escape hatch, remember?" he asked, gesturing vaguely.

Fred pulled away to glare at him. "I'm not leaving you guys on a partially fixed ship when there are people _gunning you down_."

"Fred-"

"No. You're stuck with me, Smiles. We can argue about it some more and waste precious time, or you can agree and we can get going sooner." He crossed his arms and waited.

" _Fred_." He got an eyebrow raise in return, and another tremor went through the ship.

" _Fine_. Have it your way. But please, _please_ reconsider while you're working. I don't want you getting hurt because of-" Because of me. "-because of your generosity."

Fred frowned at his words. "Tadashi, I'm not just doing this because it's my job or just to be nice. I'm doing this because I care about-"

"HAMADA. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" Gogo's voice cut off whatever he was going to say, and the two turned to face her.

"I thought we would be safe here among the billions of people to hide behind, but somehow we're still in danger! How the hell did they find us?" she snarled at him. In his peripherals he saw the rest of the group rush in behind her.

"I don't know, Gogo. They shouldn't have been able to. I mean, we all have specific force presences, but it would only be obvious to force sensitives who knew us really well. To be able to pick us out among hundreds of billions of other people-" he scrubbed a hand down his face and tried not to scream. Force, he was so damn tired.

"Would take a miracle, huh? Especially for a stranger, is that what you're saying?" Fred interjected.

"Yes. To be able to do something like that would take years of knowing the other person at an extremely intimate level. You'd probably need to have known their very thoughts like through a training bond, or-" he froze. Oh Force. A training bond that was shared for years. Someone that had to recognize at least one of their force signatures.

"Smiles? What is it?" Fred asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Master Callaghan," he whispered.

"What? I thought he was killed in the conflict with the Tikiarri," Wasabi said, confusion dripping into his voice and face.

"No, you said he was carried off, didn't you?" Hiro prompted. He turned to his wide-eyed little brother and nodded.

"Yeah. The Tikiarri grabbed him and flew away. I just assumed..." he trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to voice his failure at a time like this. Vaguely he registered a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He sagged into the touch.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known," Fred said, voice suddenly much closer than before. It must have been his shoulder he was leaning against for support.

"But I could have. I knew him just as well as he knew me. I could have reached out- I could have _tried_ -" his voice broke. "I thought he was dead, but he was in the hands of a sith. And I didn't even try to help him."

" _Because you thought he was dead_. You didn't realize he needed helping, so of course you didn't try. You were busy trying to get the others to safety. You were doing your job. He'd understand that. Don't beat yourself up about it." He raised his eyes to meet Fred's and took a deep breath. He was right. He had to calm down and focus.

"Right. Well as long as we have that settled, can we get the fuck out of here? Fred, is the ship good to go?" Gogo asked.

"Almost. I just need a few more minutes. Go get ready for takeoff. Buy some time if you can," he said before jumping back beneath the grates to finish his work.

"Alright, Hamada get your ass in the copilot seat. The rest of you get ready for a bumpy ride," Gogo ordered, and they rushed to comply. They were lucky they were positioned at an outdoor garage and not one of the inner ones. Otherwise the sith would have them backed in a corner.

Back in the cockpit Tadashi peered out at their opponents. Thankfully the goliath they had been up against in space was too large to bring into the crowded skies of Wukkar, but there were smaller ships firing at them instead. Their aim wasn't perfect because they couldn't get close enough through the heavy traffic in the air. Unfortunately this meant that there were a lot of innocent people getting shot at just for being in proximity. He could see chunks of burning buildings and debris falling out of the sky, and ships crashing into each other as they tried to get farther away. They could have tried firing back, but it would just end up getting more innocents hurt.

"Fuck. We are so screwed," Gogo grit out between her teeth beside him.

He swallowed. " I wish I had something comforting to tell you, but I can't really think of anything right now." It was hard to tell through the glass and metal of the ship, but he thought he could hear screaming. Shop workers ran by with greasy rags and tools in their hands that they had yet to discard. They were shouting, and he saw one with laser burns pass off to the side of them. His hands clenched into fists and he took deep breaths. _Be calm_ , he thought to himself.

 _But how can I be calm when the whole world is crumbling apart_? Oh, how he longed to curl up and hide under a blanket like a child. Everything was spiraling out of control, and he couldn't do anything to help. He couldn't help but feel as though it was at least partially his fault that all of this was happening. None of the Wukkarans would be in danger if he hadn't pushed Gogo to come here. Gogo wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't gone to her for help. The sith wouldn't be able to find them if they didn't have Master Callaghan. Master Callaghan might not have been in danger if Tadashi had just tried to look for him. And Hiro... Hiro wouldn't be in danger if he hadn't asked the council to let them work together on a mission. Hiro's Master Cass would still be alive, ready to teach her padawan.

Everything was his fault.

 _It's not your fault_ , Fred's voice echoed around in his head. Force, he wished he could believe that right now. But even Fred was in trouble because of him. He didn't deserve to have this happening to him just because Tadashi wanted to see him. He should have just left him alone, gone to shop with people he didn't know-

 _I'm not just doing this because it's my job or just to be nice. I'm doing this because I care about-_

About what?

About Tadashi? He wanted so badly for that to be what he was going to say- to hear Fred tell him he cared about him. But Tadashi didn't deserve Fred's kindness. He was such a failure.

He shouldn't be hoping for that anyway. He was a Jedi. He wasn't supposed to form attachments. At least, he wasn't supposed to form ones that he couldn't let go. And he didn't want to let Fred go. Not ever. And it scared him.

It wasn't just that it would be breaking the code- although that scared him too- it was how intensely he felt about him. He knew what it was like to love people; people hardly gave him reasons not to. He knew what it felt like to lust after people as well, and it wasn't like either of those things were bad. But the way he felt about Fred took the air straight out of his lungs. Sometimes when they were apart it felt like he was missing a piece of himself. And sometimes when they were together it felt like he would die without him.

He wasn't supposed to be feeling this way.

But he couldn't make it stop.

And he wasn't sure he wanted it to.

He did know that he couldn't keep up the flimsy mask over his feelings. Sooner or later someone would realize what was wrong with him. And Force only knows what would happen next.

"ARE YOU DONE YET, LIZARD-BOY?"

"Almost! I just need a little-there! TAKE OFF NOW!" Fred shouted back at Gogo, and she hurried to comply.

"Someone has to go man the guns. I don't care which one of you it is- just make sure you get those fuckers to back off a little bit," She said. Hiro and the Wasilsi looked nervously at each other. None of them had been trained as gunners, and they were all hesitant to put themselves in a position where they might injure innocent bystanders.

"I've got it," Fred called before dashing off. The other three breathed a sigh of relief. They had to admit that they felt a little useless though. But at a time like this it was better to be doing nothing than to be in the way.

Hiro grasped the back of his brother's seat as they took off, knuckles white against the backrest. He hoped to the Force that they would all make it out of this alive and unharmed. It had been the longest week of his entire life- and it hadn't even been a full week at that. There were still three days left. He could only take so much before he completely lost his sanity.

He was already terrified. He didn't go on too many missions off world. Or you know, too many missions in general. It had been nearly a year since he and his master-his _former_ master- had taken on a mission. This was his first one without her. One of many to come, he supposed. After all, it's not like she was going to be there for him anywhere. Instead of the reassuring bond tying them together there was just a gaping emptiness in his consciousness.

Or maybe there would be no more missions for him at all. He didn't have a master anymore, so who would train him? He certainly wasn't ready to be knighted, and if you didn't have a master to train you then you were sent away from the temple. Maybe he'd spend the rest of his days wasting away in the Agricorps.

He wanted to ask his brother about it, wanted to hear his reassurances that such a thing would never happen to him, but he couldn't. Tadashi already had so much on his plate. Hiro couldn't bother him with his personal problems right now when he was dealing with a crisis that threatened the whole galaxy. He almost hadn't believed it when his brother told him it was the sith that was coming after them, but he couldn't deny what he'd felt in the force that fateful night on Joralla.

He spared a glance at his brother while they were swerving through the chaos.

Tadashi looked exhausted. And more than that he looked...fragile. He imagined that if he reached out and touched his shoulder his brother would crack and shatter into a million pieces.

For once in his life, he realized how high a pedestal he had put his brother on. Sure, he didn't fawn over his brother the way many of the people back home did, but he didn't look at him like a regular person either. Tadashi had always been the perfect Jedi to him. Untouchable. Nothing could faze him.

Seeing him now, he realized how stupid he'd been.

Tadashi was just a guy, barely in his twenties and a world of expectations on his shoulders. He wasn't perfect, and he wasn't unshakeable. He had struggles to face just like everyone else. He struggled against the code, and what it meant for him.

An image of Fred appeared in his mind, sitting in the gunnery tense and focused.

He thought back on the little snippets of conversation he'd heard between them and thought that it was entirely possible that the mechanic knew Tadashi better than he did.

If they got out of this alive Hiro was going to talk to Tadashi about his relationship with Fred. It was painfully clear that the two cared about each other. He'd eat his own kriffing boot if he let the code get in the way of their- dare he say- love.

Contrary to what everyone thought, Hiro did understand what happened between his parents. He was too young to remember much about them, but he did know this: they had loved each other. It was his father's duty as a Jedi and his mother's duty as a senator that kept them apart. In a different life he imagined that they would have gotten married and raised their family together without condemnation. But in this life they had been shackled to their jobs, and forced to sparse visits.

He couldn't help but think that if their visits hadn't been so restricted they might not have died. Tadashi didn't talk about their parents much, and Hiro didn't push it with him, but he had wanted to know so much about them. After Master Cass had taken him as her padawan she gave in to his incessant begging and told him what she knew.

The Jedi disapproved of their relationship because it promoted too much attachment, and the Jedi had to be a detached, unbiased group. And attachment brought people too close to the dark side. The Senate disapproved because it made it look like she was corrupting the Jedi. It was disgraceful for someone to distract a Jedi from their work with unnecessary romance.

He knew his father and mother barely got to spend any time alone with each other. Especially after Hiro had been born. Apparently the order was concerned his father would disgrace them further by having yet another child with the woman he loved. They thought he was already too attached to the concept of family, and did their best to keep him from making one of his own. They were chaperoned on all their visits as if they were horny teenagers who couldn't keep their hands off each other. It frustrated them that they couldn't even talk in private without someone reporting everything they did and said back to the council or the senate.

So they had snuck off to finally be alone for once. They went to a park- a harmless, peaceful park to relax. They were unlucky enough that a group of revolutionaries had chosen that very park to blow up as a political protest. They died of their wounds before the medics had got there.

The Council and the Senate's outdated views had indirectly gotten his parents killed. On that he would not waver.

Once Master Cass had shown him a few memories she had of his father. What Hiro noticed most about them was how strained he looked. He had looked a lot like Tadashi did now in that regard. Master Cass told him about how lonely he seemed. Many of the Jedi shunned him for his relationship, and the Council kept him from spending too much time with Hiro or Tadashi. He got weekly visits if he was at the temple, but most of the time the Council worked him ragged, sending him on mission after mission off world.

Hiro respected the Council, he really did, but sometimes he wanted to wipe all their stupid faces along the floor.

He couldn't help but believe that his father deserved better. And his mother too probably, but Master Cass had never met her. And like he said earlier, Tadashi never brought it up.

Maybe he didn't because it pained him too, thinking about what their parents had to endure. Maybe it was because he didn't want to think about how he was headed down a similar path.

Hiro didn't want that for him though. He wanted Tadashi to be _happy_ damn it, and he was going to make sure of it. He wouldn't let his brother suffer like their parents had. He'd reform the whole damn temple if he had to. Anything to let Tadashi get the life he deserved. He'd get him a kriffing fairy tale ending if it was the last thing he ever did.

 _I'll make sure you get your happily ever after_ , he thought as the ship rocked from the lasers blasting at them. He ingrained the image of his brother sitting at the control panels in his brain, shaking hands and muscles tensed, worlds of pain in his eyes. If only it were possible.

* * *

 **A/N: you guys get 2 chapters at once cuz i forgot i cross posted this stuff on here lol**


	7. Interlude Part 1

The first time Tadashi met Fred was right after he finished his first mission on his own as a knight. He'd done well negotiating between the feuding war lords of the planet he'd been on, but his ship had gotten banged up pretty bad in the process.

Wukkar was on the way back to Coruscant, so he decided to stop there and get the ship checked out before going back to the temple.

He was eighteen, adjusting to life without Master Callaghan at his side, and a little worse for wear when he saw him for the first time.

He pulled into the loading docks at the first garage he could find that had space and crawled out of his pod to get shakily to his feet. He had only gotten about 60 hours of sleep during his two week mission- it turns out negotiating in that sector required a lot of running for your life. Needless to say, he was exhausted.

"Hi there! What can I do for you today?" a chipper voice asked to his left. He turned to answer and almost stopped in his tracks.

A boy about his age stood next to him, blonde, maybe a little taller than him, and with sparkling blue eyes. He was so breathtakingly cute Tadashi considered combusting on the spot.

"I wanted to get my pod checked over. It, uh, got banged up a bit," he said, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. The other nodded, scribbling down some notes on a clipboard.

He smiled. "Alrighty, we'll get that started right away. There's a lounge over through that door over there," he gestured. "No offense, but you look like you could use some sleep, Jedi." Tadashi blinked some more.

"How'd you know I was a Jedi?" he asked.

The blonde raised his eyebrows at him looking pointedly at his robes and the light saber hanging on his hip.

"Oh, right," Tadashi mumbled, blushing furiously. _Way to go Hamada_ , he thought.

"Wow, you really are tired aren't you? Come on, buddy- let's get you some rest. The name's Fred by the way," he chuckled, leading him away.

He woke up three hours later, groggy and with a little note attached to him that said to come to the counter when he was ready to go.

* * *

By the time he saw Fred again, nearly a year had passed. It had been a whirlwind of missions for Tadashi who, after completing his first mission with such success, was continually sent out on tougher jobs. Normally new knights would take on the easier missions, but somehow he'd already gotten a reputation for getting things done and getting them done right, so the council found it appropriate to use his skills as often as possible.

This time around he'd been acting as a body guard for one particularly ungrateful royal family. There were times he wanted to punch some of his charges, so he couldn't really blame their aggressors for being so...well, aggressive. Still, it was his duty to protect them and that's what he did.

It was rough going though, and not just from actual assassins trying to kill them. The general populace of the area hadn't seemed to like the royals very much either. He wished he could say he was surprised that his pod had been vandalized, but sadly it was just expected at that point. He hadn't had time to get it fixed while he was on planet, and frankly he didn't want to stay there any longer than was absolutely necessary.

The windshield was cracked, but the shields and everything inside functioned properly to keep it from being a problem in deep space. He sighed and resigned himself to yet another trip to a mechanic. Maybe one day the council would send him on a nice, peaceful mission that didn't require him to get his ship fixed. That would be nice.

He was back in the _ quadrant, so he figured it would be easiest to stop back on Wukkar. It had been the nicest he'd ever been treated at a repair shop.

He pulled in at the next open space and tried not to look like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

"Hi! Welcome to- oh, it's you again!" He looked up in surprise when he heard the other's voice.

Oh no. It was the devastatingly good looking guy. Fred, wasn't it?

Now at that point Tadashi had had more than his fair share of romantic and sexual partners, so he was no newbie to attraction. He never had much trouble finding willing partners and everyone seemed to think he was charming. As soon as he laid eyes on Fred however, all his natural charm flew out the window.

"Um. Hello," he said intelligently. Yes, he was clearly a man with a silver tongue that had negotiated peace across the galaxy.

"Oh, sorry, I dunno if you remember me from last time. I'm Fred," he said, holding out a hand for Tadashi to shake. "It's been a while, so I can't blame you for not remembering," he laughed.

Tadashi flushed. "No, no, I remember. Sorry, I'm just a little tired." He rubbed a hand awkwardly over the back of his neck. Then he realized Fred's hand was still in front of him and he hurriedly reached out to shake it.

Fred grinned at him. "So what can I do for you this time? Does it have anything to do with that giant crack in your windshield? How did that even happen?" He winced.

"The locals weren't very fond of the family I was protecting," he sighed. It took him a second before he realized he was still holding the other's hand. He dropped it with an apology and tried to keep from blushing.

"But, uh, yeah. That's what I came to get fixed," he said lamely. He was too embarrassed to look Fred in the eye, but if he had he would have seen how smitten the other was with him.

"Well, we'll get that fixed for you ASAP. In the meantime you can go take a nap in the lounge," Fred said, throwing an arm around his shoulder as they walked off.

* * *

The third time they met up was under much less pleasant circumstances.

Tadashi had been traveling over Basilisk when his ship was literally blown out of the sky.

He had just taken a pit stop to refuel before continuing on to Korfo where he was supposed to help with negotiations between the senators and the monarchy there. The most logical reason for this happening was that someone clearly didn't want him going, and they succeeded in stopping him.

One minute he'd been setting his navigation system on the smoothest course and the next he was lying on the ground, bleeding out in the wreckage of his ship.

There was a small part of him insisting that he get up and try and stop the bleeding, but the ringing in his head kept him from moving. Before he knew it he had blacked out again.

* * *

"-dashi? Hey! Can you hear me, Tadashi?" someone spoke near his head, shaking him gently. He almost opened his eyes, but he was still so tired...

A slap across his cheek made him change his mind, blinking slowly back into consciousness.

There was a familiar face coming into focus right above him, and it took a minute before he realized who it was.

"Fred?" he croaked out confused. Had he somehow ended up on Wukkar without realizing it? Or had he died and this was the Force's way of comforting him?

"Yeah, buddy, good to see you're still with me. I commed for help, so just keep your eyes open, okay?" he said quietly, looking at him with such concern it made Tadashi feel a little warmer despite the growing cold in his bones.

He tried to stay awake like Fred asked, but it ended up taking too much energy for him. The black spots in his eyes clouded over his vision as he heard Fred's worried voice calling out to him.

* * *

When he came to again it was in a very comfy, very large bed that he did not recognize. It had a nice calming pattern in light blue stitched across the comforter, and he could feel multiple pillows propping him up slightly. He took a few minutes to clear the fog out of his head and get a look at his surroundings. He was in a clean but oddly fancy looking room. It became clear that he wasn't in some sort of healing wing because no matter how nice hospitals were, they were never _this_ nice.

There was a window to his right, and through it he could see the sprawling landscape of Basilisk. So he definitely wasn't on Wukkar. But then why was Fred here? He wondered if he'd just hallucinated the other, but before he got far into his ruminations the door to the room opened and Fred walked in.

"You're awake," he said, relief washing over his face. He strode over to the bed and took a seat in the chair sitting next to it. Judging by the little divots in the carpet the chair had been there for a while. Like someone had been sitting there to check on him a lot.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked quietly, resting a hand gently over Tadashi's.

The Jedi swallowed. "I- I was stopping to refuel...and then...then I got hit," he answered hesitantly. He was pretty sure that was what happened, but everything was kind of fuzzy. He knew he was headed somewhere else before then. He paled.

"My mission. I was supposed to go to- I have to- to-" he stuttered in panic. He had to go finish his mission. He had to let the council know what happened. He had to go. He tried to sit up, but the other put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Whoa there, buddy. Don't try to get up. We took you out of the bacta tank a week ago, but you're still in pretty bad shape."

"A week?" he croaked. He was passed out for a week?

"Yeah. You spent a few days in the tank- gave us a real big scare. You're going to need some more time to heal though on your own," Fred said, straightening out the already immaculate sheets.

"My mission..." he whispered. He had barely been awake for a few minutes and he was already tiring out. He didn't want to go back to sleep though; he wanted to figure out what was going on, damn it. Tears of frustration and helplessness pooled in his eyes.

Fred took a hand and smoothed the hair out of Tadashi's face, letting it rest gently behind his ear.

"We contacted the Jedi Council as soon as we could and let them know what was going on. We've been sending them updates on your condition too. We thought it was best not to move you while you were recovering, so they let us take care of you here. They said to tell you once you woke up that they were sending someone else to Korfo and to focus on recovering." he finished quietly. He kept his hand cupping Tadashi's head.

Tadashi lay there trying to get his breathing under control as he came to terms with what happened. He was out of commission until he got better- which would probably take a long time. He had worked so hard the past year to prove himself, and now he was stuck in bed unable to move. He couldn't decide if he wanted to scream or cry. Maybe he should just do both.

* * *

Fred heard the little hitch in Tadashi's breathing, noted the unusual wetness in his eyes, and started massaging soothing circles behind his ear. It hurt to see the Jedi like this- so vulnerable and broken.

When he saw the ship explode out of the sky he hadn't hesitated to find what was left and check for survivors. He hadn't expected to find Tadashi in the wreckage, battered and bruised with a foot long piece of shrapnel sticking out of his stomach.

His blood had run cold at the sight and he stopped breathing for a few seconds before springing into action. He pulled out his communicator and commed the guards, explaining where he was and that he needed medical aid immediately. He rushed over to Tadashi, calling out to him but getting no response. He thought he saw the other shift a little when he shook him but when the other made no other sign of movement he panicked. He slapped him across the cheek, and unfocused brown eyes opened to stare uncomprehendingly at him.

He breathed out a sigh of relief that the Jedi was alive, but he knew it wouldn't last if Tadashi didn't get help soon. He pleaded with him to stay awake, but he was too weak and ended up passing out again. Fred was nearly in hysterics by the time help arrived.

He'd paced by Tadashi's bacta tank while it did its work for days, refusing to eat or sleep until they were sure he would pull through.

He couldn't explain why he cared so much about the man he barely knew. Everyone else was certainly wondering about it. His parents weren't much for prying, but he knew they were just as curious as everybody else.

He couldn't explain it. There was this force that made him gravitate towards the other ever since he first set eyes on him back on Wukkar. He'd had an unmistakable attraction to the Jedi who was not only handsome but also adorably flustered when he was tired. He didn't think anything would come of it- after all, they'd only seen each other twice and for a very short periods of time.

He never would have imagined something like this happening. When he thought about it it wasn't that surprising that Tadashi got hurt- he'd already seen the kind of beatings his ship went through- so it made sense that the Jedi would be put in dangerous situations. It made his stomach churn, but it made sense.

The truly surprising part about this encounter was that it happened right outside Fred's home. Or rather inside it, seeing as the area Tadashi crashed into was a part of the palace grounds.

He'd been visiting his parents, expecting a rather relaxing break from work. Boy, did that change fast. This was easily the most stressful he'd ever been in his entire life.

He wished he could be upset about that, but he was far more concerned with Tadashi's well being.

He insisted on being present when they contacted the Jedi Council to explain what was going on to make sure Tadashi wouldn't worry when he woke up.

Clearly it hadn't been as effective as he had hoped it would be. It must be tough for Tadashi, having been through a near death experience and then being bedridden. He felt a swell of sympathy for him.

"It'll be okay. You'll be up and about in no time," he tried to comfort him. The other nodded slightly, trying to look less miserable.

"I know you're probably sick of it, but getting rest is the best way for your body to heal right now. Why don't you go back to sleep, buddy," he said softly, giving him a small smile.

Tadashi shifted uncertainly for a moment before nodding and relaxing the tension in his body. He let Fred continue to rub little circles behind his ear and drifted off to sleep. Fred waited until he was positive the other was out for good and let his hand fall to rest again. He spent a few more minutes just watching Tadashi breathe in and out before the healers came in to check on him.


	8. Interlude Part 2

"Alright, one step at a time. There we go," Fred encouraged him as Tadashi attempted to walk for the first time since his crash. He leant heavily into the other's side, but he felt like he was making good progress. Sure, his legs felt like Jell-O, there was a stitch in his side, and he'd only taken four steps, but at least it was something. It was definitely better than wallowing in bed all day.

He knew he was going to have to return to bed soon, but damn it- he was going to enjoy these few moments of victory.

There were a few healers standing in the corner of the room watching his progress with careful attention. According to them, Tadashi had been about an inch away from never walking again. So they were proceeding with extreme caution.

Unfortunately for Tadashi that meant he was confined to bed rest for the majority of his stay. And he hated it.

He was a Jedi knight- he was supposed to be out there helping people. He'd trained all his life for the job. He was used to being put to work, used to doing something whenever he was able. The one exception was meditation, but he in too much emotional turmoil here to do that effectively.

Some Jedi he was.

He stumbled, nearly falling to the floor but Fred's grip around his waist kept him upright.

"Whoa! Okay buddy, I think that's enough for right now. We can continue this later," Fred said, smiling good naturedly down at him. Tadashi wanted to protest, he really did, but he was already getting tired from just walking a lap around the room. He let Fred lead him back to bed, keeping his mouth firmly shut.

He collapsed gratefully onto the pillows and blankets and let his eyes slip shut for a moment. Force, he'd waited for this for ages, but now that he was finally allowed out of bed he found himself exhausted after mere minutes.

It was so kriffing frustrating.

The pain meds they had him on weren't helping much either. Sure, they did ease his discomfort, but they made him sleepy and a little loose-tongued. Yesterday he'd spent a full half hour trying to communicate with one of the healers in droid without realizing he was doing it. It had been a little funny, but it was still rather frustrating that he had so little control over himself.

When he opened his eyes he saw Fred had moved away to talk to the healers in hushed tones. Probably trying to determine how much Tadashi could handle at the moment. He felt like a lab experiment.

Fred turned his head away from the healers for a second and met his eyes from across the room. He flashed the Jedi a bright smile and Tadashi tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach.

If there was one good thing about the situation it was that he got to spend time with Fred.

Fred, he learned, was more than just a simple mechanic on Wukkar. It turned out that he was actually the crown prince of Basilisk; he just worked on Wukkar because he liked it. It was pure luck that he'd been visiting his parents for a short vacation when Tadashi's ship was shot down. If he hadn't been, Tadashi had no doubt that he wouldn't have been looked after with such care. Not that he thought the locals would have just let him die out there without doing anything, but having royalty concerned for you must ensure getting the best treatment available.

Honestly, he wasn't expecting anything to come from his brief interactions with Fred before, but apparently he'd left a bit of an impression on him.

According to the servants Fred was a real philanthropist. He donated all his earnings from his job to charity and was not above going around the city to help out at shelters and get his hands dirty. He was a real bleeding heart; however they claimed that Tadashi was still a special case.

Fred cared about all of them, they said. But they'd never seen him so worried about someone before- especially someone they'd never heard of. Tadashi chalked it up to the fact that he'd almost died, but they insisted otherwise.

He really couldn't wrap his head around it.

Fred barely knew him. They had met _twice_ before the crash. They had been nice meetings, but they were nothing special. He'd just been a customer stopping by to get his ship fixed. There was no reason for Fred to be so invested in helping him.

Did he wish there could be something deeper between them? Of course he did! Fred was cute, charming, caring, and filled his stomach with butterflies.

But he was a Jedi, and Jedi did not form attachments. So he was just going to have to digest those butterflies until they were nothing.

Force, he really wanted to kiss him though.

Hopefully that was just the pain medication talking.

"So, I have some good news," Fred interrupted his thoughts, appearing in the chair beside the bed.

"I've been magically healed and can get back to work?" he asked wryly, smirking ruefully at the other.

Fred laughed before replying, "No, not that. But you have a visitor if you're up for it. He just showed up at the front gates a few minutes ago and insisted on seeing you. I think he said something about looking after his padawan or something like that."

Tadashi perked up at that. "Master Callaghan is here?"

He didn't wait for help and basically ignored everyone's worried exclamations as he sprung off the bed and began running down the hallway. Well, he said running, but it was really more like hasty stumbling. He'd used up a lot of energy walking around the room, but he suddenly found himself reinvigorated at the mention of his former master.

Of course, he was still pretty weak, so it was for the best that he didn't have to go far to find what he was looking for.

Master Callaghan was being escorted down the very same hallway he had stumble out into, a palace guard on either side of him. The trio looked mildly surprised to find him out there while people rushed out in his wake to retrieve him. Well, Master Callaghan looked mildly surprised anyway. The guards looked a lot more startled at his appearance. He didn't care though. He just wanted to see his former master.

"Master Callaghan!" he shouted in glee. He managed to shake off the pair of arms that had gotten hold of him and continued to stagger towards the other Jedi. He would have face-planted into the floor if it weren't for a pair of long formless limbs reaching out to steady him.

His master sighed good naturedly. "Honestly, Tadashi. Don't you think it's time you listened to the healers when they tell you to stay put?" He pulled the younger man to him quickly but carefully.

The guards, Tadashi noticed, looked a lot more wary than they had before now that his master had shifted into his true form. Master Callaghan was one of the Shi'ido, and his true form was pale and bulky, and generally found to be more intimidating. Not that Tadashi gave a rat's ass about it. It was still his master no matter what form he was in. Still, most people were more comfortable when he stayed in his human form, so his master spent most of his time as such.

Now was one of the rare times when his master didn't seem to care about looking less intimidating. He picked Tadashi up with ease, cradling him bridal style in his arms.

"I can walk," he pouted, poking his master in the chest.

Master Callaghan snorted. "You almost hit the floor with your face a few seconds ago because you couldn't do the very thing you say you can do," he pointed out smugly. Tadashi huffed in indignation.

"I had it under control," he said. He resisted the urge to cross his arms like a petulant child.

"I believe you as much as that time you told me you wouldn't sleep with that Twi'lek on Lannik."

"That wasn't my fault! She was pretty," Tadashi defended. He'd come up with a better excuse, but his head was starting to spin a bit.

Master Callaghan ducked beneath the doorway to the room Tadashi had been staying in before replying, "You think everyone is pretty. You think your former crechemates are attractive, you thought that Prince on Andara was attractive, you thought the former queen of Naboo was attractive, that barkeep on Plooma, that smuggler-"

"They were!" he interrupted his master. Really, it wasn't his fault there were so many attractive people in the galaxy.

"You've barely been knighted for a year, yet you've already left a string of broken hearts in your wake. Incredible," he sighed, tucking Tadashi into the bed and securing the covers down tight enough to keep him from immediately throwing them off again.

"I have not," he scoffed. He wasn't breaking anyone's heart. That would be mean.

Master Callaghan shook his head, reverting back into his human form. "You have no idea the effect you have on others, do you?" A sigh. "I should have known you'd be trouble from the first moment you told me Farfalla's padawan had given you a bouquet of lilies. That was surely a sign of how people were going to be falling at your feet. And you were only twelve then." He patted him in mock consolation.

Tadashi struggled for a minute, but he tugged his arms out from beneath the covers and grasped Master Callaghan's arm.

"You're being weird. And Quill said he thought I'd like them because they were Hiro's favorite color. Not because he _liked_ me." He snuggled deeper into the blankets, trying to blink the exhaustion out of his eyes.

Master Callaghan chuckled softly. "Ah, Tadashi. So mature, and yet so naive. Get some rest, Padawan." He smoothed his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm not a padawan anymore," he grumbled half-heartedly but complied. He fell asleep moments later, his master's arm still gripped in his.

* * *

Fred wasn't going to lie. He was attracted to Tadashi. He was ridiculously cute, sweet, and seemed to genuinely be interested about Fred's life.

There was a chance that was just the heavy pain meds talking, but he'd always been nice back on Wukkar.

He knew Tadashi was getting antsy though. It was part of the reason the healers had insisted on him taking the particular medication he was on. The meds kept him docile enough that he was less likely to get up and wander around on his own. They'd tried giving him weaker meds at first, but he kept trying to get out of bed. Their vigilant watch was the only thing that had kept him from succeeding.

Leave it to Tadashi to surprise them all by jumping out of bed and lurching down the hallway despite the heavy medication and clear exhaustion. Fred was so stunned it took him a minute to process what had happened, but as soon as he did he went barreling after him.

Tadashi was not in any shape to be running around on his own.

He burst into the hallway on the heels of the healers and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the Jedi fall towards the floor. Before anyone else had time to react a flash of white extended to keep him upright.

Where moments before had stood a humanoid Jedi with salt and pepper hair, there was now a hulking white mass in Jedi robes pulling the other Jedi to safety.

He heard his fellow Basiliskans gasp. It wasn't every day they saw a Shi'ido. Like the Basiliskans they were shape shifters, but they had a much more dubious reputation. Still, he was a Jedi, so that had to mean he was trustworthy right?

Fred brushed it aside. He didn't want to judge someone just by their species, and he wasn't going to allow prejudice get in the way of that. Besides, Tadashi was clearly happy with him there. He listened to the two of them exchange friendly banter, surreptitiously signaling everyone else to stand down.

He followed behind the pair of Jedi as they returned to the room and tried not to choke at the list of Tadashi's past attractions. He assumed they were past- Fred didn't want that much competition for the other's affections. Thought he could definitely believe Tadashi having numerous admirers. The man was too appealing for his own good.

What really caught his attention was the mention of another Prince catching the Jedi's eye. That meant Fred was still in the running. He would have been screwed if Tadashi was straight. He wasn't the only one who had noticed that particular detail either. He pointedly ignored the looks his staff was giving him.

He also tried to ignore how adorable it was when Tadashi acted like this. Those pain meds really loosened him up. He was like an overgrown kid talking to his dad. It was cute.

And if he had to leave the room after Tadashi fell asleep curled up and clutching the other Jedi's hand because he thought he might combust from the cuteness- well, that was nobody's business.


	9. Interlude Part 3

Master Callaghan didn't stay long on Basilisk. Unfortunately he had another mission to get started on, so after a couple days he took his leave.

It disappointed Tadashi a little bit, but honestly he was glad the man found any time to come see him at all. Those two days were the longest time he'd spent with his former master in the last eighteen months. The life of a Jedi was a busy one.

Still, he missed having someone around that understood how he was feeling. Sure, he didn't share a training bond with Master Callaghan anymore, but the man spent years feeling everything that Tadashi was feeling- he had a pretty damn good idea how his former padawan worked. It made it easier for everyone when Master Callaghan could predict when Tadashi was getting antsy or when he knew just how to distract him from his woes.

The Basiliskans didn't have nearly the amount of Tadashi related knowledge that he had. They had tried taking notes as they observed the two together, but two days wasn't enough time to gather all the information they needed. They had to put up with a lot in the following days.

"Sir, you have to go back to bed-"

"I've been in bed for ages, and I'm sick of being there. I just want to walk around a little," he protested. He wasn't even that far. He'd only made it a few corridors away, and he planned on at least finding a way outside. He was starting to feel a little fatigue, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was _fine_.

Another healer popped up and blocked his path down the hallway. "You're not strong enough-" she began, spreading her arms out to halt his trek.

It felt like something burst inside him. He'd tried to bottle all his feelings up, and what resulted was a molotov cocktail of pent up emotions. "I can handle walking down a damn hallway! _And even if I wasn't, I'd rather crawl down the hallway half dead than stay in bed doing nothing all day_." he seethed.

The healers attempting to herd him back to his room all took a step back. They shared nervous glances amongst themselves- they couldn't just let the Jedi walk around and overexert himself, but it also wasn't good for him to get so agitated. They were at a loss.

"Tadashi?" a voice asked, appearing at the end of the hallway in the form of Fred.

He was surprised to find the Jedi out and about, considering all the complaining the healers did about keeping him in bed, but at the same time he supposed it was inevitable. Ever since the older Jedi had left, Tadashi had been more antsy at being cooped up inside.

He took a hard look at the pleading faces of the healers and the way that Tadashi was leaning heavily against the wall, face slightly flushed and panting gently. The other man hadn't even bothered to respond to Fred, continuing to glare daggers at the healers instead.

One of the guards at his side cleared their throat loudly. "Is there a problem here?" He directed the question at the healers.

"We're just trying to make sure he doesn't overexert himself," Healer Korrin explained, doing her best to look contrite.

Tadashi had to bite back the childish response, "I can overexert myself if I want to". It would hardly help his case. He settled for glaring at her harder than before.

Fred blinked at the venomous look in the Jedi's eyes and tried not to sigh. Honestly he wasn't sure if he wanted to sigh in weariness of laugh at how the man was taking this.

Tadashi had always been so tired during their brief visits on Wukkar that he didn't get to see how he usually was. He'd assumed that the Jedi at least had enough skill and charm to keep being sent on dangerous missions that trashed his ship, and he probably was when he was at full health. But after a near death experience and being coddled for days on end?

Well he must have kept some of his wits about him despite the heavy meds because he somehow managed to escape from the healers watchful eye long enough to get this far.

Fred was learning new things about Tadashi every day. A lot of it came from listening to the healers tell stories of what they had to go through when they had to watch over him. For example, just the other day Healer Terry told him that he spent a half hour trying to figure out what the Jedi was telling him in a stream of beeping and other odd sounds. It turns out Tadashi had been speaking in droid without realizing it. Fred thought it was adorable and also impressive that he knew something so uncommon for organic life forms.

But more importantly, he got to learn more about Tadashi by talking to him himself.

He learned that Tadashi had a full blood younger brother that was also training to be a Jedi knight. He learned that Tadashi's favorite flowers were ash roses. Most people found it offputting that they were the color of charcoal and crumbled apart at the touch, but Tadashi liked the way that you could see their embers glowing at the edges and that you only had to hold them carefully to keep them from falling apart. He said they reminded him of people. Not the common kind of person perhaps, but the ones that society excluded. The outcasts that people didn't understand, who had something bright inside them that most people didn't bother to look for.

It said a lot about Tadashi's character.

He stepped toward the Jedi, keeping his hands behind his back to avoid Tadashi thinking he was going to lead him back to the room.

"Where are you trying to go?" he asked. He ducked his head so that it was closer to the other's.

Tadashi finally ceased his glaring to glance warily at him before letting his gaze fall to the floor. "I just wanted to go outside," he said so quietly that Fred had to lean in closer to hear him. Their foreheads were nearly touching.

Fred opened his mouth to say something, but one of the healers beat him to it.

"You shouldn't be exerting yourself like this. There's plenty of fresh air in your room, and there's no reason to be straining yourself just to be petty. I would have thought a Jedi would know how important it is to remain calm in times of duress," Healer Gareth huffed. He was an older man, who always seemed to think that his opinion was the only opinion that mattered. Fred resisted the urge to glare at him like Tadashi had earlier.

"I do know how important it is!" Tadashi snapped, shoving himself off the wall in anger to round on the healer. "But I'm going insane in that stupid room! You don't let me do anything besides sleep! I can't get up to walk on my own without people swarming me, or check the news in case there's something traumatic that might trigger negative emotions, or call my brother in case it makes me too emotional. I can't even tinker with my own light saber- which I've been trained to use my whole life- because you're all afraid I'm going to end up accidentally stabbing myself with it!"

Fred gave the healers a look that he hoped conveyed his surprise that they were treating Tadashi with such kiddy gloves. He made time to come visit the Jedi when he could, but he did have princely duties to attend to while he was home. He should have been paying more attention to how they were treating him.

They looked sheepishly at him in response. He was going to have a long talk with them about this later.

Tadashi wasn't done though. "I would meditate to 'remain calm in this time of duress' but you don't even let me do that! Every time I try you all freak out and make me stop because you're concerned about my heart rate slowing down on the monitors you keep attached to me!

"I know I'm supposed to be the perfect picture of Jedi calm during all this, but do you know how Jedi keep calm? By _meditating_!" he nearly spat out.

Healer Gareth looked a bit repentant at the Jedi's outburst, and Tadashi was starting to look more fatigued by the second, so Fred figured it was time to step in.

"Oooookay. So there are a lot of things that we have to address later," he said, giving his staff a meaningful look. "But for now, Buddy, let's get you some fresh air. Outside."

Tadashi looked at him in pleasant surprise- did he seriously think he was going to make him go back to his room after hearing all that? Everyone else looked flabbergasted.

"There's a lot of stairs to go down though, so I don't think we should completely ignore what the healers are saying. I bet there's a hover chair somewhere though, right?" he says, looking to the healers for confirmation. Healer Korrin nodded hastily and ran off to find one.

"I know it's not ideal, but at least you won't have to stay in that room. I probably should have thought of it sooner. Well, I definitely should have," he chuckled good naturedly. Tadashi in turn, looked willing to accept the compromise.

He did his best to keep his hands to himself. He didn't want to offer Tadashi help the other didn't want. By the looks of things he was fed up with it. On the other hand, he also didn't want the Jedi to collapse out of stubbornness.

Fortunately for him, Healer Korrin returned in record time with a hover chair.

Everyone else let out a silent sigh of relief when Tadashi dropped himself into it. They could practically feel the tension drain out of the air.

Time to get the jedi some fresh air.

* * *

Tadashi had to admit, he may have overreacted a bit with the healers. He definitely wasn't showcasing the calm serenity that Jedi were supposed to embody. Not that he thought what they did was right, but now that he finally got a little freedom it was easier to admit their worries weren't completely unfounded. He'd apologize to them later.

For now, he was going to enjoy his time away from that blasted room.

"You feeling better, buddy?"

He peeled open an eye to look at Fred who was sitting beside him. " _Much_ better. Sorry for causing such a scene back there."

Fred chuckled. "Eh, don't worry about it. Sounds like they deserved it. Honestly, I can't blame you. I'd have gone insane laying around all day doing nothing a lot sooner. But it looks like you're doing a lot better now that you've got the whole meditation thing going, huh?" he said, gesturing loosely at Tadashi's posture.

Tadashi tried to fight back the smile pulling at his lips, but gave it up for a lost cause. Something about Fred just made him want to smile. "Yeah, the meditation really helps."

"Hmm. So do you always have to cross your legs and sit like that, or can you do other poses too? If there was like, a battle going on around you, would you be able to ignore all of that? Do you think more people could benefit from meditation? Should I try it? Does your heart rate actually slow down enough for the healers to freak out, or are they just overreacting? Is there ever a situation where meditation is a bad idea. Like for health reasons?" Fred asked, questions spilling out in a quick stream. He scooched closer to Tadashi in anticipation.

Tadashi blinked a couple times before pulling himself together. "Well...no, I don't have to sit like this to meditate. It's just easier for me- habits and all that. I guess I could try to meditate in the midst of a battle, but there probably wouldn't be good reason to. Meditation is a very good tool to use for calming down and finding peace within yourself, so yes, I think most people could benefit from it. You can try it if you want to.

" _Uhhh_...My heart rate does slow down, but I don't think it's enough for anyone to worry about it. Maybe if I hit my head and got a concussion they might have reason to worry? I mean, if you get a concussion you're supposed to stay awake and as conscious as possible to avoid slipping into a coma, so there's that," he finished, meeting Fred's focused gaze. The Basiliskan looked ready to vibrate out of his skin in excitement.

"Wow!" he burst out. "You know, most people don't answer all my questions. Actually, they don't answer most of them. Sometimes none at all. I'm impressed Master Jedi. You're just full of surprises! Something tells me you and I are going to get along great."

Tadashi laughed at that. "Fred, you make it sound like we didn't already know that. We've been getting along just fine since we met."

Fred smiled and leaned a little closer to bump shoulders with him. "Yeah, but there's always room for improvement."

There was something in his smile and tone of voice that made Tadashi feel like a youngling again. He was reminded of carefree days where he and the others would make flower crowns and trade them for innocent kisses.

At the same time it also reminded him of the last time he had traded a flower crown for a kiss. That time had been significantly less innocent, and ended with him walking stiffly for the next two days.

He tried not to blush at the combination of memories and current feelings, but failed rather spectacularly.

There were little warning bells ringing wildly in the back of his mind, and a voice telling him not to get attached, but he chose to ignore it. He was always giving 110% to appear like the ideal jedi. (The past few days excluded, due to the abnormal circumstances.) Maybe he could let himself get attached just this once.

"I suppose so," he said softly, leaning onto Fred's shoulder and letting his eyes fall closed.

Just one attachment couldn't be too bad, right?

* * *

 **A/N: what's uuuuuupppppp it's been forever because I forget this website exists and also I didn't have a laptop for like 5 months so...my bad**


	10. Sexual Tension Makes Tempers Run High

After what felt like the longest ride of Hiro's life, they managed to escape their pursuers. Hiro almost collapsed in relief when Gogo declared they were in the clear.

"Well, we made it out by the skin of our teeth. Where are we headed to now?" Tadashi asked her.

"We're on the Perlemian Trade Route right now," she said, leaning back in her seat.

Hiro's ears perked up at that. "The Perlemian Trade Route? Are we close to Coruscant then?"

Gogo let out an irritated huff and turned to glare at him. "No, we're not headed towards your high class hellhole. Those bastards behind us chased us effectively in the opposite direction."

Honey and Wasabi shared a panicked look and turned to her in unison.

"We're not heading to Coruscant? Where are we going? I thought we were trying to get to the Senate and the Jedi Council to get help for Joralla," Honey said. It was clear by her rigid posture that she didn't approve of their new route.

The pilot swiveled around to face her, a stormy look on her face. All the males in the compartment scooted away from them.

"Look, Princess, if you want to die that badly I can shove you out the door into open space, but I plan on staying alive. We're not going there because we can't make it through that armada of ships trying to blow us to pieces," Gogo snarled.

Honey bristled visibly at that, drawing to her full height to look down imperiously at her. "I am a senator, not a princess. And excuse me for wanting to send aid to my people as fast as possible. We can't all be as self serving as you," she said sharply.

Gogo sprung out of her seat and Tadashi grabbed her arm to hold her back.

"I may be self serving, but in case you didn't notice I've been dragging your sorry asses across the galaxy all day, so-"

" _Okay_. Let's calm down guys. We're all tired and stressed- let's not say anything else we might regret," Tadashi cut in, stepping between the two women. Honey glared over his shoulder at Gogo, and Gogo continued to do the same. Meanwhile, Hiro and Wasabi attempted to blend in with the walls.

Tadashi sighed. "Look- I know you want to get back to your people, Honey. And we are doing everything we can, but we can't go back to Coruscant right now. We'll have to find another way to get there, and I promise we're not giving up on your people. We just need a little time."

She deflated at that and took a step back. She knew he was right, and she was just high strung because of everything they had gone through in the past few days. But for goodness' sake, could anyone blame her? Well, anyone besides the stubborn woman piloting them that is.

Good looks aside, the woman was really starting to get on her nerves. But that was probably the stress talking again.

She held back a sigh. She really needed a nap. And a day without another life threatening crisis occurring.

Gogo stalked out of the cockpit dead set on kicking Fred out of the gunnery so she could have some time alone. She could have gone to an empty room, but she was too on edge to just sit around or take a nap. Manning the guns seemed better suited for her at the moment. Plus she could let Fred know that they were out of danger for the time being. She couldn't tell him on the intercom because sadly that was broken. Maybe she could get him or Tadashi to fix it later.

She reached the gunnery and slapped her hands onto the backrest of Fred's seat, scaring him half out of his skin. Which was not an exaggeration. His skin was halfway transformed to green scales before he realized what was going on.

"Kriff, Gogo! Give a guy a little more warning. I almost had a heart attack!" he said, hand pressed to his chest in fright. The scales receded back to peachy flesh.

She snorted and gave him her most unimpressed look. "You'll survive. Anyway, I came down here to relieve you from your post. We've shaken off the enemy for now, so you can go pilot and convince Hamada the elder to get some rest."

She practically pushed him out of the seat to claim it for herself, causing Fred to narrowly miss falling in a heap on the floor.

"Um, okay," he said, "But why are you down here then? Don't you want to get some rest too?"

She was too pissed off to be having this conversation. Even if it was a perfectly valid question.

"I'm fine. Just get Hamada to sleep before he collapses from exhaustion," she snapped, throwing in a glare for good measure.

He raised his hands in placation and stepped away. She clearly wasn't in the talking mood, so he would ask her about it later. In the meantime, he had a Jedi to find.

Gogo listened to Fred's footsteps fade away before she threw her head in her hands and groaned.

Stupid Jedi getting her into this mess with their stupid senators and their stupid sith enemies. For fuck's sake, she thought the sith were just a myth. A scary story to tell children to get them to behave.

And that _senator_. She made Gogo want to rip out her own hair. Firstly because she was so self-righteous. Where did she get off bad mouthing Gogo like that? She wasn't a fucking _saint_ \- and she wasn't living in the lap of luxury either. People in her position didn't get to indulge in steadfast morality.

The second reason she drove Gogo insane was that she was ridiculously beautiful. She was tall and lean, had long flowing hair, bright eyes, and carried herself with grace even during times of duress. Plus, she had the balls to stand up to Gogo, which was impressive enough on its own. In other words, she was exactly Gogo's type. Kriffing hell.

How did she always end up getting mixed up with attractive do-gooders? Hamada was bad enough, but at least he was male, and therefore off her sexual radar. Now this insanely gorgeous specimen showed up out of nowhere with him?

She was so fucking screwed.

Fred passed the Wasilsi on his way to the cockpit and gave them a friendly smile of encouragement, but they only returned it half heartedly. Oh well. They were having a rough week, so he couldn't blame them.

Hiro followed soon after, but he seemed a lot happier to see Fred.

"Oh, hey Fred. Gogo said she was going to go relieve you. Did she seem, um, okay when you left?" he asked nervously. He couldn't seem to stop moving his hands- they fiddled with his clothes, then his hair, and then tapped restlessly against his leg.

Fred tilted his head curiously at him. "She was a little cranky. Seemed fair enough after the day she's had. Why? Did something happen?"

Hiro made a squeaking sort of gurgle and flapped his arms around. "Uh, you know, I'm not really sure if I should- I think I'm going to go rest up before we land...wherever. So... I'm just going to go now..." he trailed off before darting around Fred and down the hallway.

Huh. Well, something had definitely happened. He'd worry about it later though. For now, he had a different problem to attend to.

"Hey, Smiles. Mind handing me the reigns while you get some shut eye?" he asked, sweeping into the cockpit and settling into the pilot's seat.

Tadashi startled a little at his voice, but turned to smile at him all the same.

"I wasn't expecting you to take over. Did Gogo send you up here after she kicked you out?" he asked, reaching a hand out to run it down Fred's arm.

He grinned at the Jedi and replied, "How did you know? Wait, I've got it- you were using your magical Jedi powers to read my mind, right?" They both chuckled at that- Fred knew of course that Tadashi's powers didn't work like that.

"Guilty as charged," Tadashi said. He sank a little further into his chair, eyes blinking slowly as he tried to stay awake.

Fred took the hand on his arm and wrapped it in one of his own. "Get some sleep, Smiles. I've got it covered here."

Tadashi pouted at that and looked like he was about to protest, so Fred hurried to clarify what he meant. "You can still stay here, but at least close your eyes for a bit. You're running on steam right now, buddy. It'll be better if you're in top shape when we land."

It was enough to placate Tadashi for the moment. The Jedi settled into a more comfortable position in his seat, keeping his hand interlocked with Fred's.

"Speaking of landing, where are we headed?" he asked before the other nodded off.

Tadashi took a minute to think about it before he answered, "Missarassa. The Force is calling to me. It wants me to go there. Maybe I'll be able to find some answers for how to solve this mess."

Fred squeezed his hand a little tighter. "Missarassa it is. I'll wake you when we get there," he said, leaning over to give him a quick peck on the lips.

Tadashi sighed in contentment and drifted off to sleep a few seconds later.

* * *

 **A/N: yet another update in record time. Don't get your hopes up for more lol. Do you know that I totally forgot I was going to add honeygogo until this chapter? Well, it's gonna happen. I swear gogo will get nicer lol**


	11. Baby, It's Cold Outside

Missarassa was cold. In retrospect, Tadashi should have expected that, considering it was basically a giant ball of ice.

It was a rather unpleasant adjustment to make after the warm summer air of Wukkar. He had brief wistful thoughts of the tropical climate of Joralla before remembering that Joralla was currently a disaster zone. At least it was a warm disaster zone though.

He shivered for the hundredth time, rubbing his hands up and down his arms furiously to try and help them regain some warmth. If only their enemies had given them enough time to make a pit stop and grab some winter coats before coming to this ice ball.

He knew the others were thinking the same thing, but at least they got to stay on the ship if they wanted. Which they all had chosen to do because there was no reason for _them_ to be wandering through caves of ice.

Life was so unfair.

Despite all his griping about the cold, he could not turn back. The Force was calling to him, beckoning him further into the planet's icy grip. And as a jedi, he was bound to its call.

There was something waiting for him here. He just had to find out what it was.

"Do you think Tadashi's going to be okay?" Honey asked. "It's awfully cold out there."

Hiro almost snapped at her for speaking the obvious, but he held his tongue. He knew she was just concerned for his brother like the rest of them. Really, it didn't bother him that much, but everything had been so crazy in the past week. He was nearing the end of his limits.

He wished he had something helpful to say, but he had nothing. After all, Tadashi had gone off wandering into the freezing cold with only his standard issue jedi robes and an insistence that the Force was calling him.

"I offered to go with him, but he told me it was better if I stayed here. Didn't want me catching my death out there and all that," Fred said, sighing and slouching further into his chair.

One part of Hiro wished Fred had insisted on going anyway just so Tadashi wouldn't be alone, and another more reasonable part of Hiro knew that Tadashi had made the right decision. Despite his current human appearance, Fred was a cold blooded creature. His reptilian biology wouldn't allow him nearly enough heat to survive out there for long.

Plus, if he really wanted Tadashi to have someone with him, he could have gone himself. Hiro wasn't a cold blooded creature after all.

The only reason he hadn't gone was because the Force was telling him not to for some reason. It was like it was pushing him gently away from his brother's side. Whatever was supposed to happen here, Tadashi was meant to face it alone.

Tadashi could barely feel his fingers anymore. He had kept his hands carefully bundled in the sleeves of his robes to keep them out of the cold, but to no avail. He'd been walking through the tunnels for almost an hour now.

Every breath he took felt like shards of ice were lodging themselves into his throat, and he'd long since lost amusement of watching his breath leave him in little cloudy puffs. His limbs were numb to the point that they didn't feel cold anymore. Not a great sign.

The deeper he went, the more it felt like his life was getting sucked out of him. Still, the Force continued to call, and he continued to answer.

He didn't know how much time passed before the dark endless walls of ice started changing.

For the longest time it was just ice no matter where he looked. Ice and darkness. Nothing else.

Then the most wondrous thing began.

Scattered among the ice, crystals started to appear. They glowed softly in the tunnel, in shades of green and blue and purple. The Force hummed through them, and Tadashi found himself far more at ease then before.

He'd almost forgotten that Missarassa used to be mined for its Adegan crystals until Ilum had been found and deemed better for use. That was a long time ago. Who knew when the last jedi had walked through these once hallowed tunnels?

Soon enough the walls were coated in the crystals, lighting his path and urging him forward until at last the tunnel ended.

It opened up into an immense cavern, the ceiling so high that it was possible to see the sunlight through its thick surface. Down below was a vast expanse, dotted with pathways of ice to navigate across the void.

And on one of the paths stood a familiar figure.

"Master Callaghan!" he cried, forgetting the cold and the ice for once, and running to his mentor's open arms.

Something was wrong.

Hiro didn't know what, but something was definitely off. He was trying to meditate, but the Force was swirling around him in a way that felt muggy and vaguely uncomfortable.

"Um, should we maybe go looking for Tadashi?" Wasabi asked, tapping his fingers restlessly against his leg from his position hunched over in the corner.

Three sets of eyes swiveled to look at him, and the normally collected looking captain of the guard straightened up hastily. "It's just that- he's been gone for a while now. I wouldn't think much of it if we were somewhere else, but given the temperature and Tadashi's state of dress..." he trailed off.

Hiro stood up abruptly from his spot on the ground, startling the others.

It was faint, hard to make out through the fog of his emotions and the Force, but something evil was here.

Perhaps the sith had managed to catch up with them while they lingered. Whatever it was, they had to get Tadashi and get out of here.

"We have to leave. I'll go find Tadashi, and then we're headed out of here," he told them. He turned to exit the cockpit, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Whoa there, Mini-Hamada. What's got your panties in a twist?" Gogo demanded, spinning him around to face her.

Hiro bit back a sigh and forced himself to project an aura of jedi approved calmness. "I can't really explain it, but something feels wrong. I don't know if it's the sith or not, but it's definitely not good. We need to get Tadashi and get out of here," he said.

"Well, we can't just send you in alone. We'll go with you," Honey said. Her tone made it clear that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Hiro didn't have time to argue with her about it, so he didn't try to stop her.

"Fine. But you should stay here, Fred," he directed his statement at the older man who had been pulling himself out of his seat. At his displeased look he continued, "Someone should stay with the ship, and since we don't know how long it will take to reach Tadashi and get back, we don't want to risk you getting sick. We'll be back as soon as we can," he called over his shoulder.

He didn't bother checking to see if Fred obeyed him. He knew the Basiliskan would follow his orders as long as he was being logical, even if he didn't like them.

He and the others went barreling down the tunnels, with only Hiro's connection to the Force to tell them where to go.

It felt like ages before the tunnels opened up, Adegan crystals glittering along the walls and lighting their way. The Force was pushing back at him again, trying to get him to turn back, but he could still feel a faint tugging towards the end of the tunnel that he knew led to his brother.

Distantly he could hear voices echoing down the tunnel, although he couldn't tell what they were saying. One of them belonged to his brother though.

He sped up.

The Force began to scream.

They burst out of the tunnel just in time to see a red light saber surge out of his brother's back.

A white mask with red stripes turned its baleful yellow eyes on them as Tadashi went plummeting down to the endless depths below.

It was no longer just the Force that was screaming.


	12. The Sith

Time is relative. That's what Hiro had always been taught. Right now everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, yet somehow it also felt like everything was moving too fast.

His brother fell into that endless abyss so slowly, but Hiro wasn't fast enough to catch him.

Those yellow eyes pierced into him like a thousand needles.

Honey and Wasabi were talking to him, but their voices came muffled to him as though they were speaking to him as he drowned under water.

The Force was an ever present scream that tore through his veins.

Before he knew it he was tearing across the icy bridge that led to the sith. His lightsaber activated and he moved to attack in form IV. He somersaulted over the sith and brought his saber down, but his opponent was prepared for his attack.

The sith blocked his slashes easily, clearly familiar with Ataru and how best to deflect it.

Those poisonous yellow eyes glared back at him.

The worst part of using Ataru was that it wasn't meant for long combat. It drained your stamina faster than the other forms, and Hiro wasn't even that well practiced in it.

It was probably his favorite form, but he never had much cause to use it outside of the training stalls.

He never had much cause to use any sort of combat outside of the training stalls.

This was a terrible idea.

It was hard to care though. Even with his brain yelling at him to stop this madness and run while he could, the larger, louder part of him shouted for vengeance.

He wanted to make that sith pay for killing his brother.

He renewed his attack with vigor, hell-bent on slicing the damn monster in two.

He could feel the Force surging through him, and it felt so _wrong_. It felt like it was burning him from the inside out.

He'd never felt so alive.

The sith blocked another swing before moving into an offensive stance and lashing back at him. Hiro had to focus on defending himself now against the ruthless barrage of attacks the sith was raining down on him. And with one decisive stroke the sith slipped through Hiro's guard.

Hiro expected to feel the sting of the saber ripping through his gut like it had Tadashi's. What he didn't expect was for the sith to ignore physically harming Hiro in favor of slashing through the hilt of his lightsaber and therefore ruining his weapon.

Hiro dropped the burnt carcass of his saber in surprise, unprepared for the Force shove that the sith sent his way.

The push was so strong that Hiro barreled straight into the Wasilsi that had been coming to aid him and causing them to tumble all the way back to the start of the bridge.

When Hiro regained his footing the sith had already disappeared into the countless tunnels surrounding them.

"Dammit!" he screamed, turning to punch the cavern wall.

How had this happened?

"Hiro..." Honey spoke softly, laying a tentative hand on his shaking shoulder. He knew she was trying to comfort him, but he didn't want her to. He didn't want her comfort. He wanted his brother back.

He wanted that sith to die.

"We should return to the ship," Wasabi said, looking around nervously. "We don't know if that man brought any more of our enemies with him. It's not safe here."

Hiro continued to glare at the wall. Let them come. He would fight them. He'd tear them all to pieces.

"Wasabi's right. We should go," Honey said, talking carefully like she was afraid one wrong word would set Hiro off.

"Fred could be in danger," she said, squeezing his shoulder.

That got his attention.

The Basiliskan had no idea what was happening here. He was probably worried out of his mind by now. He realized with a sick twisting in his gut that they'd have to tell Fred that Tadashi was...

He swallowed hard and nodded, turning away from the wall to begin their return.

He didn't think there was any more danger here- the Force was so much quieter now- but Fred deserved to know what happened.

If there was one last thing Tadashi would have wanted, it was for Fred to be safe.

The walk back to the ship passed in a haze, but at one point he had to stop and stare at the tunnel floor.

A white crystal pulsed with light, like a heart that beat in perfect time with his own. He reached down to pluck it form the ground, placing it carefully in his pocket. Its presence made him feel more clear headed.

He slipped his hand around it when they reached the ship.

Fred stood in the open door, ready to greet them. His face fell when he saw how haggard they looked, and Hiro couldn't help but notice the way Fred seemed to freeze when he realized there were only three of them returning.

He gripped the crystal so tight it bit into his palm.


End file.
